CBI (Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries) is part of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The mission of CBI is to connect small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries with the European market and so contribute to sustainable and inclusive economic growth. CBI does this by implementing three to five-year projects in a specific export value chain (VC) in a specific country, focusing on seizing opportunities for exports to Europe and tackling obstacles that hamper or hinder these exports. They are integrated projects, meaning they involve both SME exporters and the enabling environment. CBI develops and implements projects in several consecutive phases.
- Value Chain Selection (VCS) phase: based on preliminary research, the most promising value chain in the target country is selected
- Business Case Idea (BCI) phase: an initial idea for a project is formulated focusing on the selected value chain
- Value Chain Analysis (VCA) phase: an in-depth analysis of the VC is conducted
- Business Case phase: a detailed business case for a project is developed
- Implementation and Performance Management phase: the project is implemented and the success of the project is monitored
- Audit and Evaluation phase: after completion, the project is audited and evaluated.
The objective of the Value Chain Analysis study was to provide answers to the following questions.
- What does the European export market look like? To confirm findings in the earlier phases of project development and to gain a better understanding of the specific markets and segments a project could focus on.
- What is the composition of the value chain? Includes an analysis of the key actors, chain supporters and influencers.
- What are the salient corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues?
- What are the main opportunities for export to Europe and which obstacles prevent export?
- What interventions and support activities are needed to seize opportunities and tackle obstacles?
- How and to what extent will these interventions and support activities help seize opportunities and tackle obstacles?
- Who can take up which interventions and support activities?
- What the risks are for a project and how can these risks be mitigated?
The Value Chain Analysis was completed in September 2018, and CBI is currently implementing a specialty coffee program in Rwanda.