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commercial reason i.e. an importer's failure to pay, or for political reasons, i.e. the importer's country
hindering payment. The Saudi Exports Development Authority (SEDA), provides tax and fiscal
incentives to marketing export and attracting foreign investors. The third agency, the Saudi Export
Development Centre (SEDC) focuses on consultancy services and supply of information, studies and
economic reports to affiliated Saudi export companies.
In Yemen, assistance to exporters is provided by a financial institution, specialised in lending to small
enterprises, the Small Enterprise Development Fund (SEDF).This partners with the Small and Micro
Enterprise Development unit (SMED), which is the unit of the Social Fund for Development (SFD) –
the government institution co-financed by international donors – responsible for promoting the
development of the small and micro finance sector in Yemen.
In most of the cases analysed, a specialised agency, different from the trade promotion entities, is in
charge of investment promotion. For example, in Indonesia, the main institution for trade promotion is
the Directorate General for National Export Development (DGNED), a non-profit government agency.
The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) is a free-standing government agency, responding
directly to the President of the Republic, which oversees enforcement of the laws and regulations
affecting both foreign and domestic investment.
In some cases, there exist several TPOs that are not specialised by functions or services, but rather
cover different sectors or engage different stakeholders. This is the case of the rather fragmented trade
promotion environment in Egypt, where the Egyptian Export Promotion Center (EEPC) is the main
governmental export promotion agency, but other institutions exist that provide trade services,
including, the Industrial Modernisation Center, the Egyptian Export Councils, the Egyptian
Commercial Service, the Egyptian Exporters Association (EEA), a non-profit organisation founded by
the Egyptian private sector exporters in 1997. Also in Bangladesh, there exist several organisations
promoting trade, including the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), a semi-autonomous institution under
the Ministry of Commerce, the Board of Investment (BOI), under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO),
the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA), the official organ of government (under
the PMO) to promote, attract and facilitate investment in Export Processing Zones (EPZs), and the
Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI), a trade policy thin-tank in public-private partnership, also
involved in export promotion.
TPOs across the surveyed countries appear also to have different degrees of responsibilities with
regard to policy design and implementation. In Uganda, Senegal and Bangladesh, for instance, the
main role of TPOs is to implement a national plan or strategy defined by the Government. In Indonesia
and Malaysia TPOs contribute also in defining or reviewing policies. In Malaysia, for instance, among
other functions, MATRADE, established in March 1993 as an external trade promotion arm of
Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), formulate and implement a national
export marketing strategy to promote the export of manufactured and semi-manufactured products,
represent Malaysia in any international forum in respect of any matter relating to trade, and advise
government on matters affecting or in any way connected with trade.
Relationships with regional associations, international organisations and donors also vary significantly
across the surveyed countries. In African and MENA countries, governments and TPOs work closely
with aid agencies and international organisations, whereas in Asia cooperation at the regional level is
more frequently observed. In Senegal, for instance, several international organisations are involved in
SME development and export promotion. The Accelerated Growth Strategy (Box 4.1) is funded by the
African Development Bank, through its “Strategy 2010-2015”, which also supports the country’s
Enterprise Update Programme. Other donors, including the EU, USAID, GIZ, ECOWAS, take part in
the implementation of generic or sectoral SME programmes. In Burkina Faso, the National Export
Promotion Strategy, validated in 2009, followed the priorities identified through the Enhanced
Integrated Framework (EIF), a multi-donor programme, which supports LDCs to be more active
players in the global trading system by helping them tackle supply-side constraints to trade (Box 4.2).