| 01/07/08
Do You Want to Host a WAIPA Workshop?
WAIPA is still planning its workshop schedule for 2008. The topics of the workshops are determined through feed-back from WAIPA members. We are looking forward to receiving your proposals. Also, WAIPA members who are interested in hosting such workshops during the year 2008 are kindly requested to indicate this to the WAIPA secretariat, at the following e-mail addresses: karine.campanelli@waipa.org or alexandra.tokareva@waipa.org
WAIPA Study Tour Programme September 28th – October 5th, 2008 in Stockholm, Sweden
WAIPA’s popular study tour programme aims at enabling professionals to visit and learn from experienced IPAs worldwide. The study tours are scheduled for a period of up to two weeks and cover the whole range of IPA activities through hands-on experience and on-the-job training.
Study tours are geared towards professionals from WAIPA member agencies; the programme is designed to provide participants with the opportunity to gain experience in investment promotion and investor targeting from successful IPAs.
The training is free of charge for WAIPA members, the travel and accommodation costs for agencies from LDCs are borne by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). To make an official request for UNCTAD sponsorship the Agency should send an official application on the Agency's letter head and signed by the head of the Agency. This application should be sent by fax to Mr. Paul Wessendorp, Chief of the Investment Facilitation Section, Division on Investment and Enterprise Development (DIAE) of UNCTAD on the fax No +4122 917 01 97. On the basis of this official application and those received from other LDCs, UNCTAD will consolidate a list of sponsored participants in the study tour. Given that a hosting agency can accommodate a limited number of participants in the study tour, as well as budgetary constraints of UNCTAD, a limited number of countries could be included in the study tour. It should be noted, that usually UNCTAD finances only one participant from one agency.
Applicants must hold a university degree in Business, Economics, Law or a related field, and have a minimum of two years of work experience in investment promotion. Candidates must be fluent in English. After completing the study tour, the trainees are requested to submit a written evaluation report to the WAIPA Secretariat. Upon successful conclusion of their training, the participants receive a certificate of completion.
This year, investment promotion professionals from IPAs will be trained by Invest in Sweden Agency (ISA). The preliminary programme will be soon available on the WAIPA website www.waipa.org.
Due to the high number of participants already registered, please note that only few places are left. Therefore, we would encourage those who are interested in participating in the Study Tour, to contact WAIPA as soon as possible.
For more information, please contact Mrs. Alexandra Tokareva at: alexandra.tokareva@waipa.org or at the following telephone number: +41 22 797 26 63.
WAIPA Round Table at the 12th China International Fair on Investment & Trade (CIFIT), 8 – 11 September 2007, Xiamen, China
WAIPA and the Ministry of Commerce of P.R. of China (MOFCOM) will jointly sponsor a Roundtable Conference for International Investment Promotion Agencies during the 12th China International Fair on Investment & Trade (CIFIT), which is to be held between September 8 and 11 in Xiamen, southeast China. The theme of the Roundtable Conference, which will be held on the 9th of September, will focus on Public-Private Partnerships in Infrastructure Building.
In order to support WAIPA members to participate in CIFIT and to strengthen WAIPA’s influence on the international investment promotion activities, MOFCOM provides free booths especially for the IPAs from least developed countries and half-price booths (3mx3m) for other WAIPA members and their respective domestic enterprises. By participating CIFIT, WAIPA members will have the opportunity to establish communication channels with domestic and foreign government officials, principals of the IPAs and representatives from business associations and enterprises, so as to further expand their investment promotion business.
In response to the adjustments of the world’s industrial structure and in view of the emerging trends, challenges and opportunities in international investment cooperation, the 12th CIFIT will carry out China’s latest national development strategies, implement the nation’s strategies for coordinated development of regional economies, and promote bilateral and multilateral economic exchanges and partnerships.
The annual CIFIT is sponsored by MOFCOM and co-sponsored by IFC, UNCTAD, UNIDO and WAIPA. With its themes of Promoting Inward and Outward Investment, CIFIT is the biggest, most important and most influential event featuring in internationalized investment promotion held in China.
A registration form will be sent to WAIPA members soon with a letter of invitation.
For further information please contact: Mr. CHENG Han, Tel: +86 10 8522 6215, Email: chenghan@fdi.gov.cn or Mrs. Karine Campanelli, at: karine.campanelli@waipa.org, Tel.: +41 22 797 26 64
iPAD Central Africa Conference, 7-9 October 2008, Kinshasa, DRC
The iPAD Central Africa conference and exhibition is a forum for mining stakeholders to gather accurate information face-to-face.
The 4th annual Infrastructure Partnerships for African Development Conference and Exhibition (Central Africa) takes place from 7 - 9 October 2008 in Kinshasa, DRC. Typically attracting over 400 local and international participants, the event aims to facilitate sound investment in and collaboration on the reconstruction of the DRC. Delegates will get the opportunity to engage closely with the right contacts for business and investment in the DRC - including government and extractive industries executives, both public and private - and receive accurate, in-depth, up-to-date information about the opportunities of doing business in the DRC.
Register before 15 August to avoid missing out on the early bird discount! And for more information visit www.ipad-africa.com/central
For sponsorship enquiries, contact Jean-Tite Oloumoussié:
jeantite.oloumoussie@spintelligent.com
For registration and travel enquiries, contact Rue Limekhaya: rue.limekhaya@spintelligent.com
For conference and general enquiries, contact Nicole Smith: nicole.smith@spintelligent.com
Phone: +27 21 700 3500 · Fax: +27 21 700 3501
Publications
Progress Report and MVP partnership document
In the broader context of helping the Millennium Cities formulate integrated City Development Strategies and allow the sustainable delivery of social services, the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI) offers advice on exploiting investment opportunities, managing infrastructure constraints and effectively delivering critical public services. In June 2008, the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI) released a progress report on its investment activities in the Millennium Cities. Further, as it pays special attention to rural-urban, farm-to-market linkages, MCI envisions a close cooperation with the Millennium Villages Project (MVP) in the area of investment. A brief conceptual note outlining this vision can be found on their news and events page on our website here:
http://www.earth.columbia.edu/mci/?page=news as well as on the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment here: http://cpii.columbia.edu/
Kumasi Investment Guide
On April 18, 2008, MCI launched the Kumasi Investment Guide in Ghana. Kumasi is Ghana's second largest city and capital of the Ashanti region and an important commercial center. Its location, climate and safety, combined with Ghana's increasing access to foreign markets, make Kumasi attractive to investment in a number of areas. The Guide outlines these opportunities as well as relevant matters such as tax and regulatory conditions in Ghana. The first draft of the Guide was discussed in meetings with local representatives of business and government in February 2008. (The business community meeting was attended by about 50 business people.) These meetings served as an important mechanism not only to get feedback on the draft, but also to mobilize important stakeholders around a key MCI activity.
The Guide was developed in collaboration with the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment (VCC) and with support from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC). The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) and the European Business Council for Africa and the Mediterranean (EBCAM) also lent their support to this effort.
Kisumu Investment Guide
Since starting its operations in 2006, MCI has assisted the Millennium City of Kisumu in a number of investment-related activities aimed at attracting the attention of local and foreign investors to the city and its surroundings. In July 2007, an Investor’s Guide for Kisumu, Kenya was prepared in cooperation with the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment (VCC) and with support from the governments of Finland and Kenya, UNDP and UNIDO as well as the US-based Corporate Council for Africa (ACC) and European Business Council for Africa and the Mediterranean (EBCAM). The guide was launched in Nairobi on 26 September 2007. It has been disseminated both electronically as well as in hard copy. About 19,000 potential investors world-wide have been informed about the business and investment opportunities in Kisumu and its surroundings. Targeted outreach efforts are being continued, in particular also through journals, newsletters and/or websites. |
