Dragons' Den: Bright ideas for inclusive trade development in LDCs

The Forum pioneered an innovative format for launching concrete investment opportunities. A plenary session in “Dragons’ Den” style brought together leading thinkers from donor governments, development banks, the private sector and the trade for development community. Representatives from LDCs had the unique opportunity to pitch new investment opportunities that support inclusive trade to the experts, and received immediate feedback.

Moderators:

• Sarah Beeching, Executive Director, Oschun Partnership
• Annette Ssemuwemba, Deputy Executive Director, Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF)

Speakers:

• Kerstin Jonsson, Cissé Head, Global Economy Unit, Swedish International Development Agency (Sida)
• Heather Ducharme, Sustainable Sourcing Manager, The Body Shop
• Axel Pougin de La Maisonneuve, Deputy Head of Unit, European Commission/DEVCO
• Andrew Staines, Ambassador Deputy Permanent Representative (Economic), Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations Office

Presenters:

• Betty Chinyamunyamu, Chief Executive Officer, National Smallholder Farmers Association (NASFAM), Malawi
• Damchae Den, Bhutan Association of Women Entrepreneurs (BAOWE), Bhutan
• Alberta Vitale, Associate Director of Samoa’s Women in Business Development Incorporated (WIBDI), Samoa

The Global Forum on Inclusive Trade for LDCs would not have been possible without the financial support of the EIF Trust Fund Donors and additional Forum sponsors, including International Islamic Tade Finance Corporation, Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility and German Development Cooperation.