BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:unctad.org
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:6a71e9c96ad83
DTSTART:20250506T080000Z
SEQUENCE:0
TRANSP:OPAQUE
DTEND:20250506T160000Z
LOCATION:Bangui \, Central African Republic
SUMMARY:National validation workshop of the joint UNCTAD-UNECA report on th
 e participation of CAR’s SMEs in regional value chains
CLASS:PUBLIC
DESCRIPTION:Regional integration and the African Continental Free Trade Are
 a (AfCFTA) offer new prospects for trade and industrial diversification\, 
 but more targeted policies are needed to unlock the potential of Central A
 frican Republic’s Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Their integ
 ration into Regional Value Chains (RVCs) remains limited due to challenges
 \, such as limited access to (i) productive resources (roads\, energy\, IC
 T)\; (ii) lack of skilled labor\, production equipment\, market informatio
 n\, and financing\; (iii) supply-side constraints\, particularly weak and 
 unstable production capacity\; and (iv) ineffective SME support policies t
 hat lack coordination and impact.To contribute to efforts to tackle these 
 issues\, UNCTAD is implementing a project to strengthen SME participation 
 in RVCs\, in collaboration with ECA Subregional Office for Central Africa 
 and the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Central African Republic\, b
 y providing policy tools\, institutional support and data-driven insights.
  In CAR\, the initiative focuses on sectors such as agro-processing\, wood
  and timber and mining (including gold and diamonds).The national validati
 on workshop will serve as a platform to present and refine the findings of
  a national study conducted under this project. It aims to validate sector
 al recommendations and foster alignment with national strategies\, while e
 ncouraging dialogues between government actors\, the private sector and de
 velopment partners.The workshop will bring together around 50 stakeholders
  and will cover thematic discussions\, presentation of findings and policy
  options to accelerate SME integration into RVCs within the AfCFTA framewo
 rk. Participation is by invitation only.&lt\;p&gt\;Regional integration an
 d the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offer new prospects for
  trade and industrial diversification\, but more targeted policies are nee
 ded to unlock the potential of Central African Republic’s Small and Medi
 um-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Their integration into Regional Value Chains 
 (RVCs) remains limited due to challenges\, such as limited access to (i) p
 roductive resources (roads\, energy\, ICT)\; (ii) lack of skilled labor\, 
 production equipment\, market information\, and financing\; (iii) supply-s
 ide constraints\, particularly weak and unstable production capacity\; and
  (iv) ineffective SME support policies that lack coordination and impact.&
 lt\;/p&gt\;&lt\;p&gt\;To contribute to efforts to tackle these issues\, UN
 CTAD is implementing a project to strengthen SME participation in RVCs\, i
 n collaboration with ECA Subregional Office for Central Africa and the Min
 istry of Trade and Industry of the Central African Republic\, by providing
  policy tools\, institutional support and data-driven insights. In CAR\, t
 he initiative focuses on sectors such as agro-processing\, wood and timber
  and mining (including gold and diamonds).&lt\;/p&gt\;&lt\;p&gt\;The natio
 nal validation workshop will serve as a platform to present and refine the
  findings of a national study conducted under this project. It aims to val
 idate sectoral recommendations and foster alignment with national strategi
 es\, while encouraging dialogues between government actors\, the private s
 ector and development partners.&lt\;/p&gt\;&lt\;p&gt\;The workshop will br
 ing together around 50 stakeholders and will cover thematic discussions\, 
 presentation of findings and policy options to accelerate SME integration 
 into RVCs within the AfCFTA framework. Participation is by invitation only
 .&lt\;/p&gt\;\n\nView meeting on unctad.org\nhttps://unctad.org/meeting/na
 tional-validation-workshop-joint-unctad-uneca-report-participation-cars-sm
 es-regional
DTSTAMP:20260804T133153Z
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:6a71e9c96add4
DTSTART:20250507T080000Z
SEQUENCE:0
TRANSP:OPAQUE
DTEND:20250507T160000Z
LOCATION:Bangui \, Central African Republic
SUMMARY:National validation workshop of the joint UNCTAD-UNECA report on th
 e participation of CAR’s SMEs in regional value chains
CLASS:PUBLIC
DESCRIPTION:Regional integration and the African Continental Free Trade Are
 a (AfCFTA) offer new prospects for trade and industrial diversification\, 
 but more targeted policies are needed to unlock the potential of Central A
 frican Republic’s Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Their integ
 ration into Regional Value Chains (RVCs) remains limited due to challenges
 \, such as limited access to (i) productive resources (roads\, energy\, IC
 T)\; (ii) lack of skilled labor\, production equipment\, market informatio
 n\, and financing\; (iii) supply-side constraints\, particularly weak and 
 unstable production capacity\; and (iv) ineffective SME support policies t
 hat lack coordination and impact.To contribute to efforts to tackle these 
 issues\, UNCTAD is implementing a project to strengthen SME participation 
 in RVCs\, in collaboration with ECA Subregional Office for Central Africa 
 and the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Central African Republic\, b
 y providing policy tools\, institutional support and data-driven insights.
  In CAR\, the initiative focuses on sectors such as agro-processing\, wood
  and timber and mining (including gold and diamonds).The national validati
 on workshop will serve as a platform to present and refine the findings of
  a national study conducted under this project. It aims to validate sector
 al recommendations and foster alignment with national strategies\, while e
 ncouraging dialogues between government actors\, the private sector and de
 velopment partners.The workshop will bring together around 50 stakeholders
  and will cover thematic discussions\, presentation of findings and policy
  options to accelerate SME integration into RVCs within the AfCFTA framewo
 rk. Participation is by invitation only.&lt\;p&gt\;Regional integration an
 d the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offer new prospects for
  trade and industrial diversification\, but more targeted policies are nee
 ded to unlock the potential of Central African Republic’s Small and Medi
 um-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Their integration into Regional Value Chains 
 (RVCs) remains limited due to challenges\, such as limited access to (i) p
 roductive resources (roads\, energy\, ICT)\; (ii) lack of skilled labor\, 
 production equipment\, market information\, and financing\; (iii) supply-s
 ide constraints\, particularly weak and unstable production capacity\; and
  (iv) ineffective SME support policies that lack coordination and impact.&
 lt\;/p&gt\;&lt\;p&gt\;To contribute to efforts to tackle these issues\, UN
 CTAD is implementing a project to strengthen SME participation in RVCs\, i
 n collaboration with ECA Subregional Office for Central Africa and the Min
 istry of Trade and Industry of the Central African Republic\, by providing
  policy tools\, institutional support and data-driven insights. In CAR\, t
 he initiative focuses on sectors such as agro-processing\, wood and timber
  and mining (including gold and diamonds).&lt\;/p&gt\;&lt\;p&gt\;The natio
 nal validation workshop will serve as a platform to present and refine the
  findings of a national study conducted under this project. It aims to val
 idate sectoral recommendations and foster alignment with national strategi
 es\, while encouraging dialogues between government actors\, the private s
 ector and development partners.&lt\;/p&gt\;&lt\;p&gt\;The workshop will br
 ing together around 50 stakeholders and will cover thematic discussions\, 
 presentation of findings and policy options to accelerate SME integration 
 into RVCs within the AfCFTA framework. Participation is by invitation only
 .&lt\;/p&gt\;\n\nView meeting on unctad.org\nhttps://unctad.org/meeting/na
 tional-validation-workshop-joint-unctad-uneca-report-participation-cars-sm
 es-regional
DTSTAMP:20260804T133153Z
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR