WAIPA 2004 AWARDS Best Practices in Promoting Sustainable Business Linkages 

"Business linkages between transnational corporation (TNC) affiliates and domestic small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are good news for everybody: SMEs gain from transfer of technology and management know how, they gain access to new markets, and become competitive supply chain partners; TNCs gain from a greater focus on their core operations; the country gains from creating a policy environment that is more conducive to business linkages, therefore helping the development of the private sector.

In time, support industries are created in a number of sectors, and this is a key factor in attracting more foreign direct investment (FDI). Today, only one investment promotion agency (IPA) in ten is actively engaged in a formal business linkages programme. This means the other nine have a great opportunity to do more, complementing their core activities, and enhancing their prospects for attracting further FDI.

UNCTAD is committed to helping IPAs establish new business linkages programmes and thus contribute to long term development gains ".

Jacques Ferriere, former CEO of Unilever Vietnam Ltd. and current UNCTAD Senior Advisor.

THE WAIPA AWARDS

In 2002, WAIPA introduced awards for best performance in investment promotion practices. The awards are given to member agencies at the WAIPA Annual Conference.

On 22 January 2002, WAIPA awarded three IPAs for their prompt and adequate replies to investor enquiries. The winner was the Chilean Foreign Investment Committee. The WAIPA Award in the category of "Global Runner-Up" went to the Foreign Investment and Foreign Trade Agency of Mongolia, and the "Best Least Developed Country IPA" award was given to the Gambian Investment Promotion and Free Zones Agency.

The WAIPA 2003 Awards were given to members whose advertising was deemed most innovative. The first prize went to the Austrian Business Agency (ABA) followed by second and third prizes for the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) and Czech Invest.

In 2004, the WAIPA Awards have been given to the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) for the Best Business Linkage Programme; special prizes went to the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) for the Business Linkage Programme with an Extraordinary Development Impact for the Oil Palm Out-Grower Scheme and to the Industrial Development Institute of Minas Gerais (INDI) in Brazil for the Best Business Linkage Programme by a Sub-National IPA for the "Buy in Minas" programme.

The selection of winning IPAs was done by UNCTAD on the basis of a survey carried out among 123 IPAs from 109 countries, which reported their latest activities in the area of business linkages promotion. 123 out of 164 IPAs responded to the survey; 12 per cent reported to undertake formal business linkages programmes and another 19 per cent is involved in informal activities that promote linkages between enterprises.

The survey is part of a broader study undertaken by the UNCTAD`s Advisory Services on Investment and Training (ASIT), which looks into formal and informal efforts by IPAs to promote and facilitate business linkages between TNCs affiliates and domestic SMEs.

2004 WINNER IPAs

The WAIPA award for the Best Business Linkage Programme: Thailand Board of Investment, (BOI) for the Unit for Industrial Linkage Development (BUILD)

BUILD is a cross-sectoral matchmaking programme, which started in 1992 with the goal to establish linkages between large enterprises and SMEs. The programme contains three main components: the Vendor Meet Customer Program (VMC), the Market Place Program & the VMC Road Show Overseas Programme.

These programmes bring together SMEs and large enterprises in order to encourage interchange of ideas and information on a number of issues, including ways in which they can work together, business policies on purchasing and subcontracting and technology confidentiality.

BUILD has helped Thai SMEs to establish business links with TNCs operating in Thailand as well as overseas. On average one hundred Thai SMEs successfully join the programme per year. In terms of industrial linkage value, the transaction between TNCs and SMEs valued almost $ 148 millions in the year 2001. Partners in the BUILD programme include, Toyota, Honda, General Motors, Isuzu, Ford, Mazda, Hitachi, Toshiba, IBM, Fujitsu, Nissan, Canon and Sony.

Contact details of the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI): Mr. Somphong Wanapa Secretary General, Thailand Board of Investment Telephone : 66 2 537 8168 Fax : 66 2 537 8130 E-mail :somphong@boi.go.th

The WAIPA award for the Best Business Linkage Programme with an Extraordinary Development Impact Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, (GIPC) for their Oil Palm Out-grower Scheme

The Oil Palm Out-grower Scheme is being carried out in partnership with Unilever Ghana Ltd. and several Ghanaian institutions. It commenced at the beginning of 1998; the objective was to provide Unilever Ghana Ltd. with a network of high quality local oil palm out-grower suppliers. Unilever provided the market, technical support and quality control and GIPC institutionalised the programme and helped to sensitise and involve suppliers.

Presently, the scheme links 3,000 small oil palm out-growers with margarine and soap factories and includes assistance to these farmers in improving production. The scheme has created 12,000 jobs without considering temporal employment opportunities at high production seasons.

Partners in this programme include Unilever Ghana Ltd., the Crops Research Institute, the Extension Services Division from the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Body of Small Scale Industries and the Special Presidential Initiative for the development of the Oil Palm industry.

Contact details of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC): Mr. Kwasi Abeasi Chief Executive Telephone : 233 21 664276 Fax : 233 21 663801 E-mail :kabeasi@gipc.org.gh

The WAIPA award for the Best Business Linkage Programme by a Sub-National IPA Industrial Development Institute of Minas Gerais (INDI), Brazil, for their FIAT "Buy in Minas" Programme

The "Buy in Minas" Programme started in 1989 at the initiative of the Italian carmaker FIAT and INDI. The main objective was the establishment of a competitive network of local auto-part suppliers to the FIAT factory in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Between 1992 and 1997, the largest amount of investment was made under this programme, with the implementation of 38 new projects, generating over 16,500 direct jobs and raising local supplies to the FIAT plant to 66 per cent. Currently this percentage has risen to 71 per cent, with 90 suppliers in all.

The initiative involved a joint effort from the Government of Minas Gerais; the Development Bank of Minas Gerais, the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Vale do Rio Doce Company, the Industrial Districts Company of Minas Gerais, the State Secretary of Economic Development and the Centro Estero Piemontese of Italy.

Future INDI plans consist of developing a programme for Daimler Chrysler and to use the same approach for future programmes for the agro, machinery & equipment industries.

Contact details of the Industrial Development Institute of Minas Gerais (INDI): Mr. Carlos Eduardo Orsini Nunes de Lima President of INDI Telephone : 55 31 32 99 94 10 Fax : 55 31 32 99 94 04 E-mail : ceorsini@indi.mg.gov.br

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For more information on the study, please contact Mr. Victor Perez Centeno, email: victor.perez-centeno@unctad.org

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