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| Crimson Capital Selected Projects - Africa
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Madagascar Technical Assistance for the Implementation of the ABCs Services and Strategies in Rural Agribusiness Development Program (ABIP)
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| Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Madagascar |
2007
- 2009
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This recently awarded contract is intended to support the capacity of a network of newly developed agribusiness service across the country. The main objective is to create a rural agricultural and business promotion system that is market-driven, demand-based and customized to the end-user in the delivery of services to improve production, marketing and business practices. Fundamentally, this program is expected to lead to a well-functioning ABC network, attract investment and link Malagasy products to markets, and ultimately alleviate poverty across Madagascar. A critical factor for the success of this project is to redirect the focus of Malagasy farmers/producers to operate their farms as commercial opportunities, from a business perspective, rather than being subsistence-oriented and selling only some of their harvest. Crimson Capital is currently developing a business plan for the main service center, focused on developing appropriate controls and procedures along with a long term plan for sustainability beyond donor funding.
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Doing Business Case Studies in Central and East Africa
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| International Finance Corporation (IFC) / USAID |
2007
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Crimson recently completed four case studies for the IFC and USAID in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda on specific reforms in areas related to licensing reform, trade across borders, and contract enforcement. These studies focused on reforms completed by the governments in these countries in areas of relevance to the World Bank Doing Business rankings. Analysis looked at the history and development of the reforms, implementation to date, and challenges and benefits of these new approaches of these countries to try to improve the ease of doing business.
These case studies are being compiled along with others completed into a handy guide for governments in other emerging markets and will be made available through the World Bank’s Doing Business website. The idea being that they provide a breadth of real life experiences in specific reforms initiatives that can help countries select the best model and approach for improving their business environment.
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Preparing the Madagascar Market and Trade Development Program (BAMEX)
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BAMEX aims to boost competitiveness and improve the enabling environment for trade, investment and private sector development in Madagascar. The market-oriented program is strengthening linkages along key product chains, augmenting capacity for producers and exporters, and identifying and generating export and trade opportunities. Crimson’s primary role is to develop market capacity and trade linkages for key industry sectors.
Crimson professionals facilitated new export opportunities for Malagasy exporters, now able to reach major European buyers for products such as litchis and vanilla. Crimson’s experts coordinated visits of large-scale European importers to Madagascar, resulting in sales orders for two Malagasy exporters.
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Strengthening the Competitiveness of Private Enterprise in Uganda (SCOPE)
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SCOPE has expanded the competitiveness of targeted subsectors in Uganda by promoting private sector-driven market initiatives, increasing institutional capacity for competitiveness, structuring a results-oriented dialogue on sustainable private and public competitiveness, and strengthening the environment for broad economic growth through increased trade. SCOPE promotes the formation of business-driven economic clusters in the coffee, cotton, horticulture (flowers and vanilla), maize and beans, oilseeds, dairy, and fish subsectors, as well as the tourism sector.
Two of the three long-term expatriates working on the project are Crimson professionals who lead the efforts on subsector development and on trade and facilitation. Crimson’s team achieved substantial increases in sales and exports, completed national sector strategies and business plans, improved public-private partnerships, enhanced public awareness of competitiveness issues, advanced the resolution of VAT returns, obtained progress on upgrading and expanding the cold storage facility at Entebbe airport, and boosted the capacity of both government and private sector institutions.
Crimson’s team also assisted the Government of Uganda and entrepreneurs with a new, quality branding strategy to promote Ugandan products in regional and international markets under a new tagline: ‘Uganda: Gifted by Nature.’ Crimson’s experts have also helped develop three new investments in the floriculture sector as well as new sales opportunities in the US, with over 500,000 stems delivered.
See www.USAID.gov/press/releases/2006/pr060222.html for USAID’s profile on Uganda’s flower exports to the U.S. supported by SCOPE.
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Uganda Support for Private Enterprise Expansion and Development (SPEED)
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SPEED provided technical assistance and training to increase the access of MSMEs to financing. Crimson took an active role in the assessment, design, and implementation of the program, and managed the Business Environment Component (legal, policy, and regulatory).
Crimson helped achieve significant improvements in the Land and Companies Registries (file archiving and establishing policies, procedures, and laws relating to company and land registries, including the complete rehabilitation of over 36,000 files). Crimson professionals upgraded the Center for Arbitration and Dispute Resolution (CADER), which has developed into a sustainable and profitable institution with a key role in reducing backlogs of court cases. Crimson also developed and completed extensive training of judges, lawyers and business people, and assisted successful efforts to amend the Leasing Law to allow for improved tax treatment permitting much more extensive use of leasing by MSMEs.
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