BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:unctad.org BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6a734f7c1ede2 DTSTART:20251107T080000Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20251107T150000Z LOCATION:Mansa Marina Hotel\, Mindelo\, Cape Verde SUMMARY:Training workshop on sustainable blue exports for SMEs in Cabo Verd e CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Cabo Verde’s blue economy plays a vital role in the country ’s sustainable development and regional integration ambitions. The fishe ries sector\, in particular\, remains a cornerstone of employment\, food s ecurity and export potential\, combining artisanal and industrial activiti es centered on tuna and mackerel. While artisanal fishing sustains local l ivelihoods and traditions\, most catches are sold domestically\, with limi ted local processing and export transformation. Strengthening value additi on and sustainable trade practices can unlock significant growth opportuni ties for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the fisheries va lue chain.In this context\, UNCTAD\, in collaboration with ProEmpresa and national partners\, will organize a training workshop on “From Catch to Market – Sustainable Blue Exports for SMEs” on 7 November 2025 in Mind elo\, Cabo Verde. The training is part of the 2025 Cabo Verde Ocean Week\, organized by the Ministry of Sea\, and builds on earlier efforts under th e UNCTAD project “Strengthening the capacity of African vulnerable count ries to adopt policy incentives and innovative instruments for SME partici pation in regional value chains.”The training aims to strengthen the ent repreneurial and technical skills of artisanal and small-scale fishers\, i mprove artisanal fishers’ access to local and regional supply chains\, a nd raise awareness on export requirements under regional trade frameworks. The training will feature two main modules:From More Catch to Market – A practical and business-oriented session on how to manage small-scale fis hing activities strategically and profitably. It will cover value addition through processing\, quality standards\, and access to finance\, includin g national regulations and certification for fish and seafood products.Lev eraging Local and Regional Value Chain Opportunities – A hands-on module providing insights into local and regional trade opportunities through fr ameworks such as ECOWAS\, AfCFTA\, and ACP agreements. The session will in troduce tools like ITC’s Market Access Map and the African Trade Observa tory to help SMEs identify export markets and understand rules of origin a nd regional trade standards (SPS\, TBT).Participants will include represen tatives from the private sector\, fishing cooperatives\, SMEs\, and nation al institutions such as chambers of commerce and major local fish processi ng companies such as FRESCOMAR. Participation is by invitation only.<\;p >\;Cabo Verde’s blue economy plays a vital role in the country’s sus tainable development and regional integration ambitions. The fisheries sec tor\, in particular\, remains a cornerstone of employment\, food security and export potential\, combining artisanal and industrial activities cente red on tuna and mackerel. While artisanal fishing sustains local livelihoo ds and traditions\, most catches are sold domestically\, with limited loca l processing and export transformation. Strengthening value addition and s ustainable trade practices can unlock significant growth opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the fisheries value chai n.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;In this context\, UNCTAD\, in collaboration with ProEmpresa and national partners\, will organize a training workshop on “From Catch to Market – Sustainable Blue Exports for SMEs” on 7 Nove mber 2025 in Mindelo\, Cabo Verde. The training is part of the 2025 Cabo V erde Ocean Week\, organized by the Ministry of Sea\, and builds on earlier efforts under the UNCTAD project “Strengthening the capacity of African vulnerable countries to adopt policy incentives and innovative instrument s for SME participation in regional value chains.”<\;/p>\;<\;p>\ ;The training aims to strengthen the entrepreneurial and technical skills of artisanal and small-scale fishers\, improve artisanal fishers’ access to local and regional supply chains\, and raise awareness on export requi rements under regional trade frameworks. The training will feature two mai n modules:<\;/p>\;<\;ol>\;<\;li>\;From More Catch to Market – A practical and business-oriented session on how to manage small-scale fishing activities strategically and profitably. It will cover value addi tion through processing\, quality standards\, and access to finance\, incl uding national regulations and certification for fish and seafood products .<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Leveraging Local and Regional Value Chain Opport unities – A hands-on module providing insights into local and regional t rade opportunities through frameworks such as ECOWAS\, AfCFTA\, and ACP ag reements. The session will introduce tools like ITC’s Market Access Map and the African Trade Observatory to help SMEs identify export markets and understand rules of origin and regional trade standards (SPS\, TBT).<\; /li>\;<\;/ol>\;<\;p>\;Participants will include representatives from the private sector\, fishing cooperatives\, SMEs\, and national insti tutions such as chambers of commerce and major local fish processing compa nies such as FRESCOMAR. Participation is by invitation only.<\;/p>\;\n \nView meeting on unctad.org\nhttps://unctad.org/meeting/training-workshop -sustainable-blue-exports-smes-cabo-verde DTSTAMP:20260805T145804Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR