Middle East and North Africa

Competitiveness and Corporate Social Responsibility in the Jordanian Apparel Industry (2008)

The CSR component exclusively focused on the textile and apparel industry in the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZs). Its main objective was to assist the Government of Jordan to develop policies and incentives to reduce inspection and private auditing burden on manufacturers, while promoting systemic improvements in labor practices and continued competitiveness.

Egypt - Pre-Feasibility Study for the Establishment of a Model Industrial Estates Program in Alexandria - Volume 2: Establishing a Marketable Pilot Site in Alexandria (2007)

The pilot project will be designed to leverage new developments in Egypt’s legal and institutional framework to introduce private sector participation into the development and management of industrial land. While the new framework will focus on a pilot project at the outset, it is also envisioned as a potential demonstration of new model for the operation of industrial estates in Egypt.

Egypt - Pre-Feasibility Study for the Establishment of a Model Industrial Estates Program in Alexandria - Volume 1: Policy, Legal, Regulatory and Institutional Frameworks (2007)

The pilot project will be designed to leverage new developments in Egypt’s legal and institutional framework to introduce private sector participation into the development and management of industrial land. While the new framework will focus on a pilot project at the outset, it is also envisioned as a potential demonstration of new model for the operation of industrial estates in Egypt.

Pakistan - Value Chain Analysis (March 2006)

The study provides a lens for understanding the inefficiencies along the entire supply chain of selected products in Pakistan, with a focus toward prioritizing key sector specific impediments and identifying cross-cutting policy interventions to improve competitiveness. By advocating reforms to strengthen microeconomic sources of competitiveness, the study hopes to contribute to facilitating private investment, growth, and employment generation.

Pakistan - Improving the Performance of the Housing, Tourism and Retail Sectors (August 2005)

Each sector chapter in this report begins with a brief summary, followed by an evaluation of sector performance, an exposition of the main policy and institutional constraints to stronger industry performance, the value at stake if reforms are not undertaken, and recommendations for quick, medium- and longer-term reform options.

Investment Horizons: Afghanistan (April 2005)

Benchmarking in a conflict-affected country like Afghanistan is necessarily fraught with methodological and logistical difficulties, and the results are far more susceptible to change than those in countries that have not recently undergone conflict. In this sense, these findings should be seen as a “snapshot,” an initial baseline on Afghanistan’s road to recovery. As such, this publication provides valuable information on current areas of strength and opportunity for investment in Afghanistan. However, most important from the investor’s point of view should not so much be the current situation, (which has already significantly improved from recent years), but rather the dynamic movement of the country’s economic and security realities, and the future opportunities created for business. As the findings make clear, and as is true across many sectors, investors entering Afghanistan now will benefit from being “first movers” in a virgin market that is highly pro-business.