Publications

African tech hubs play an important role in building fledgling entrepreneurial ecosystems and helping start-ups, but they struggle to earn revenue and become financially sustainable. This second edition has expanded its coverage, adding insights from East African hubs. The report, based on...

Digitalization and the rise of the platform economy are rapidly changing the way in which firms do business. A strong business ecosystem is necessary to manage this change. This year’s SME Competitiveness Outlook tells how to build it.

While standards play an increasingly important role in international trade and global value chains, little is known about their actual impacts in these chains. By applying a systematic literature approach, The Impacts of Private Standards on Global Value Chains aims to apply the key research...

Deeper regional integration goes hand in hand with strengthening processing industries and the internationalization of SMEs.Trade integration within and among regions of African, Caribbean and Pacific Island groups are measured in this study. Regions with the fastest trade integration over the last...

This report makes the case for investing in awareness, in addition to implementation, of the AfCFTA. The report is based on data from 2557 businesses in French speaking Africa surveyed by ITC and the Permanent Conference of African and Francophone Consular Chambers (known in French as CPCCAF)...

This ITC 50th anniversary publication explores new opportunities to connect small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries to global markets, provides recommendations for trade assistance and presents a road map for ITC’s future work.

Online marketplaces are the dominant form of e-commerce for consumer goods in developed countries. They are also prominent across Africa, offering great potential to serve a new generation of consumers and open opportunities for small entrepreneurs. But little is known about these marketplaces in...

This major business survey shows that almost 80% of small firms that adopted advanced digital tools reported better production efficiency.

Women make up almost half of Kenya’s labour force, yet they remain on the margins of business ownership – only 9% of Kenya’s firms are majority women-owned.

Through innovation, the Gambia’s young entrepreneurs can contribute significantly to the country’s growth. This is the key message emerging from Gambian firms that participated in the ITC Competitiveness Survey.

This quality management directory for Azerbaijan helps its small firms connect to national institutions that can help them navigate standards, conformity assessment procedures and services, while meeting the safety and technical standards for foreign markets.   It provides an overview of...

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...