Publications

Thanks to a more services-based economy and the prestige associated with women’s entrepreneurship, new opportunities allow Nigerian women to play a more active role in business.

Pharmaceuticals, baby food, cotton clothing and cars are the four focus value chains of this report. 

Anti-competitive practices can hurt developing country businesses. This book outlines cases and suggestions for reform. This book focuses on state monopolies and abuses of dominant positions in infrastructure markets, anti-competitive practices in the international distribution and retail sector,...

The coffee sector has a huge potential to contribute to poverty alleviation in East Africa, but the sector’s development is hampered by a lack of savings and credit facilities. Moreover, women’s access to financial services is even more restricted than that of men, and most women in rural areas...

This joint ITC-Alibaba publication reviews the context of e-commerce development in China and identifies what is needed for foreign firms to enter the market. China's cross-border e-commerce has been growing rapidly in recent years. This development has brought new and innovative ways to access...

Insufficient knowledge about options and application processes, difficulty understanding financial terms and lack of collateral hinder women seeking finance. In this report, financiers applying gender lens investing build on their experience addressing women’s challenges and offer insights on best...

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa can tackle e-commerce barriers such as formalization, e-payments and delivery by joining forces through collaborative business models. This paper examines the pros and cons of three models – associations, consortiums and cooperatives – and...

This book, published in 15 versions and customized to meet the needs of 18 countries in eight languages, is a unique contribution to the field of export quality management. This second edition of the 2001 best-seller, Export Quality Management: An Answer Book for Small and Medium-Sized Exporters,...

Cotton by-products – such as cottonseed oil and oilcakes – can contribute meaningfully to reducing poverty, creating jobs and increasing economic growth in Africa. These derivatives can represent up to 30% of the value of seed cotton. Yet oil and cakes have not been fully exploited, despite a...

This volume brings together contributions from leading policymakers and thought leaders from all across the world on how to shape our economies. Written entirely by women, this book is not about women. It is written by women who want to encourage everyone, including the 50% of the global...

Being a women-owned company negatively affects the credibility of their business, say Indonesian women entrepreneurs in the services sector.

This SME Competitiveness Outlook assesses the impact of conflict and fragility on business performance. It unveils a Fragility Exposure Index, and shows that fragility, as experienced by firms, can be reduced by 25% if they take actions to reinforce competitiveness. These include engaging with...