Branding

Investing in trademarks, geographic indicators of origin and other intellectual property initiatives can help countries add value to a variety of commodities, manufactured goods and services. Brazil is seeking to protect its national drink cachaça by negotiating agreements with the WTO and the European Union on intellectual property rights and national indicators of origin. While only 500,000 litres of cachaça were exported in 1995, 20 million litres were exported to more than 60 countries in 2003 and sales are expected to rise to 38 million litres by 2010. (Source: Brazilian Cachaça Development Program)

A Peruvian entrepreneur, far from the capital, turns plantain bananas, a low-return commodity, into chips, a high-value export. Finding a training partner in management skills proved the key to moving this Peruvian exporter up the value chain.

Romania’s national strategy connects regions, towns and villages. The aim is to build a broader base of exporters and a new range of exports that meet demands in new markets, especially in the European Union.

Oman used ITC’s tools for an integrated solution to diversify exports in its oil-fuelled economy.

Making investment work for long-term development is a challenge facing both resource-rich and income-poor countries.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has boomed in Africa over the last 12 months — with record-breaking inflows of $38.8 billion in 2006, a 26.5% rise — and this revival looks set to continue. Africa’s challenge is to seize this opportunity to help boost domestic productive capacities, enabling broader economic and human development over the long term.

An Ethiopian woman entrepreneur links poor weavers with rich traditions to wealthy, culture-seeking buyers.

Traditionally in Ethiopia, men weave and women spin. Muya also trains women as weavers, to help them gain financial independence.

Throughout the world, international aid agencies implement development or relief assistance programmes aimed at fighting disease, reducing poverty, fostering economic and social development, promoting respect for human rights and protecting the environment. In doing so, they procure an estimated US$50 billion worth of goods and services from companies worldwide. Today, changing procurement trends by these agencies are opening up more opportunities for developing country enterprises.

Every day in some far-flung corner of the world affected by conflict or disaster or benefiting from development assistance programmes, international aid agencies distribute supplies including food, shelter and medicines. The images of these efforts have become well known. Less known is the fact that trade in humanitarian aid and development assistance is big business, estimated to be worth some US$50 billion a year worldwide. Today, the supply and distribution of aid products is dominated by suppliers in industrialized countries. However, due to changing trends and the opening or “untying” of aid procurement, this unique market offers huge potential for developing country enterprises to become new suppliers to aid agencies.

The glossy world of fashion is far removed from blue helmets, food aid or peace treaties — but it is also part of the United Nations’ work to ensure the world’s people have better, safer lives.

Businesses as different as luxury vacation resorts and spice-growing by peasant farmers can result in export-led poverty reduction. These two projects supported by ITC indicate how a trade-focused approach to sustainable development can increase revenues for poor communities, encourage collaboration at all levels and even maintain traditional culture.

“Berimbau, Berimbau, Berimbau: It is a wire and a piece of wood,” sing the women of the Sauípe region of the Brazilian state of Bahia. This local musical instrument, a key element of their culture, is also the symbol of hope for poor communities around Costa do Sauípe resort.

More than 20,000 Chinese farming families have been lifted out of rural poverty in a remarkable economic success story that has seen Yunnan province in south-west China become one of the leading cut-flower centres in Asia.

Craft enterprises and artisans can today hope to improve their position in global trade, as a result of changes in product classification that can make their contribution to the economy more visible.

Because of its network in developing countries and its position as a practical organization concerned with export trade, ITC was able to act as a facilitator in this initiative.

In Bolivia, a group of enterprising companies survived the collapse of the rubber industry by harvesting and processing Brazil nuts. As the lead export of the Amazon region, these humble — but difficult — nuts may be the secret to saving the precious rainforest. ITC’s assistance in addressing quality management issues has helped these exporters, as part of a project designed to boost Bolivian exports in ten industry sectors.

In a joint effort to protect artists and artisans in developing countries from theft of their creative ideas, ITC and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have published a guide full of practical advice.

In 2000, ITC won an award at the World Bank’s Development Marketplace competition for innovative ideas for poverty reduction (see Forum 1/2000). The winning project, “Empowerment of Rural Communities to Export Organic Spices from India” uses Export Production Villages to organize smallholder spice producers, build partnerships with local NGOs, and ultimately provide access for rural villages to higher-value export markets for organic products.

Artisans in Sri Lanka’s gem and jewellery sector are designing new products that reflect the latest trends. Their collections are making inroads in competitive European markets.

A fair-trade luxury label shows Ethiopia’s export capacity in finished leather goods.