Trade, Investment Facilitation & Regional Integration

Business Facilitation Services
We assist companies looking to establish or expand their operations in the region to save costs by providing information on investments and exports. We also carry out sectoral surveys and market analysis to identify key resources and initial investment. We have among our associates experienced professionals who can guide companies in setting up and starting their business in the region.

Investment Promotion & Partnership Meeting
Regional Integration is viewed as a development strategy to enhance economic growth and achieve sustainable development. Opportunities exist for East African countries at the various Regional Economic Communities levels. Furthermore, the tripartite process to achieve an enlarged Free Trade Area at the level of SADC, COMESA and the East African Community (EAC) is fully encouraged by private sector IOs and the business community as a measure to promote trade and investment, in particular intra-African trade. More than ever, there is need to develop linkages among African countries in order to improve the movement of goods and services, standardise trade regulations, remove NTBs and other stumbling blocks for increased intra-regional trade.

Market Development & Regional Integration
Economic integration provides both a response to the structural challenge of the limited size of national markets and a strategic tool to mitigate the negative effects of unbalanced multilateralism. We offer support and technical assistance to overcome these barriers and facilitate the integration of businesses onto those markets and help to benefit from the numerous trade agreements signed among those countries.

Trade Preferences Erosion Studies
Quantitative and detailed trade policy information and analysis are more necessary now than they have ever been. In recent years, globalisation and more specifically, trade opening have become increasingly contentious. Questions have been asked about whether the gains from trade exceed the costs of trade. Concerns regarding the distributional consequences of trade reforms have also been expressed.  We have the answers to these questions.

Cluster & Network Development
We propose solutions to bring sectoral actors into common platforms and clusters and offer handholding support and technical assistance to improve on their performance and operations.

Based on past experience and assistance, our approach to cluster development is as follows:

  • Cluster selection and identification;
  • Diagnostic study, an action-oriented analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and hreats of the cluster(s);
  • Vision building and action planning, which refers to the formulation of a vision and a corresponding development strategy shared by the entire cluster; and
  • Implementation, i.e. the management and coordination of activities outlined in the action plan, including the establishment of horizontal and vertical networks.

International Business Linkages
Empretec Mauritius has further developed this concept to the region in mostly East African countries where local companies have made market entries, signed partnership agreements or strategic alliances through our facilitation. Our comprehensive support and technical assistance to address in the practice of business linkages includes operational challenges, obtaining reliable and useful information, reputation, relationship, and management challenges, etc.