ICR Facility (Investment Climate Reform Facility)

The ICR Facility has three components:

1) Improving the business environment and investment climate

2) Strengthening national and sub-regional Development Finance Institutions (DFIs)

3) Capitalising and disseminating good practices

Component 1: Improving the business environment and investment climate

The ICR Facility offers on-demand expertise for business environment and investment climate improvement initiatives. It supports targeted interventions through local or international experts that can be deployed for up to 90 expert days over the course of a year.

These targeted interventions aim to support reforms of the economy as a whole, of a specific sector or of pre-identified value chains, on the basis of public-private dialogue, in the following areas:

• Business environment reform: Identification, design, implementation and evaluation of business environment reforms in areas such as business registration and licensing, investment policy, and tax administration, among others. Special focus is given to reforms which resolve barriers to the economic participation of women and youth.   

• Sustainability of the business environment: Promotion of sustainability in the business environment through innovative approaches such as social entrepreneurship, climate smart investments, inclusive businesses or reforms that support women’s economic empowerment.

• Public-private dialogue (PPD): Strengthening interactions between the private sector, government, civil society and other key stakeholders to achieve more impactful and sustainable development policies. Particular attention is paid to strengthening the representation of women in PPD processes e.g. by involving women´s business organisations.

Requests for technical assistance may be submitted by Government agencies, regional organisations, national or local business associations, EU Delegations, chambers of commerce, cooperatives, professional associations, private institutions with a public mandate, public private dialogue platforms, DFIs and trade unions in member states of the OACPS.

Interventions supporting the the reform of the Djibouti Investment Code, strengthening the Haitian Chamber of Commerce, supporting the Fédération des Entreprises du Congo in DRC on the topic of crowdfunding  and strengthening the ECCAS High Business Council are currently being implemented.

Component 2: Strengthening national and sub-regional Development Finance Institutions (DFIs)

The ICR Facility provides expertise to national and subregional DFIs in ACP countries to become stronger institutions and to identify, prepare and implement projects and investments with high development impact, especially related to WEE and genderlens investing. Since 2020, the ICR Facility has organised a total of 40 events and over 60 DFIs have benefitted from our support.

The ICR Facility can support DFIs in two different ways:

• Providing tailor-made expertise to selected institutions: on topics such as management processes and investment pipelines, access to and leverage of international funding, strengthening institutional structures, or specific financial instruments;

• Organising knowledge sharing activities: by disseminating good practices and lessons learned, and promoting dialogue and knowledge sharing between regional and national institutions as well as between geographical regions.

Results:

From 2020 to 2022, the ICR Facility provided support to six development banks: the Caribbean Development Bank, the Development Bank of Samoa, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, the Development Bank of Zambia, the Development Bank of Rwanda and the Development Bank of Central African States.

From 2022 to 2025, the ICR Facility will support ten development finance institutions. Expertise France is particularly involved in supporting the Banque Nationale d'Investissement de Côte d'Ivoire, the Development Bank of the Bahamas and the Development Bank of Micronesia.

Since 2022, the ICR Facility has been focusing its support to development banks on gender issues. A study on good practice in gender mainstreaming by development banks in ACP countries has been published, and a MOOC has been developed to support DFIs in gender mainstreaming.

Component 3: Capitalising and disseminating good practices

The ICR Facility also shares lessons learned and good practices from its interventions and the experiences of its partners in ACP countries. We provide public and private actors with information, studies and tools to create better conditions for businesses to thrive. These include:

• Developing and sharing knowledge through:

- ICReports on recommendations to support Climate Smart Investments, Innovative Financing Solutions and Womens’ Economic Empowerment;

- A Toolbox for policymakers and practitioners and several trainings on how to use that toolbox;

- A training course on Business Environment Reforms to support Women’s Economic Empowerment.

• Promoting the debate via interactive communication through Live Events, many blog posts and our LinkedIn profile.

• Enabling networking and exchanges through:

- Peertopeer events about specific topics such as Green Jobs, Policies for the Social Economy, Eco-Industrial Parks

- Bringing together specific players, such as Investment Promotion Agencies or Arbitration centres

- Organising Focus Groups on Women’s Economic Empowerment

Since 2020, eleven interventions have been finalised by Expertise France :

• Drafting a White Paper on the private sector in Madagascar
• Support to the Réseau International des Agences Francophones de Promotion des Investissements (RIAFPI) on public-private dialogue
• Support for the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FEWACCI) on the harmonisation of regional business law
• Creation of the High Business Council of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS)
• Organisational strengthening of the Chad Chamber of Commerce
• Support for the Ministry of Trade of Saint Lucia to carry out a customs diagnosis
• Development of a capacity-building strategy for the Malawi PPP Commission
• Organisation of thematic webinars for the WCO Capacity Building Office for WCA
• Support to Niger's Microfinance Sector Regulation Agency
• Draft of a Business Climate White Paper and an Aftercare Guide for the Comoros National Investment Promotion Agency
• Support for the operationalisation of the PPP framework in Djibouti

Co-funded by the European Union (EU), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States from the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), together with the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and British Council.

The ICR Facility is jointly implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), the British Council, Expertise France and Stichting Nederlandse Ontwikkelingsorganisatie (SNV).

For further information, consult the project website: https://www.icr-facility.eu