The USAID Southern Africa Trade Hub (Trade Hub) program, which began work in 2004, has been USAID’s primary mechanism for spurring intra-regional trade, increasing value-added exports, and boosting productivity. The initiative was established to assist Southern African businesses in taking greater advantage of the global trade initiatives and functioned as a central point where local enterprises gained access to U.S. markets through business linkages, capacity building services and problem-solving trade facilitation.
 
In 2010, AECOM, a global provider of professional technical and management support services, was awarded a four-year contract to implement the new Trade Hub. This program builds on the achievements of the past administrations to support the 15 member countries of the Southern African Development Community in advancing the regional integration agenda and increasing private sector competitiveness along priority value chains. The competitiveness component will concentrate on staple crops with more organized trade structures such as maize and soya as well as textiles and apparel—where there are the greatest opportunities for efficient business relationships and developmental impacts.
 
AECOM leads a team consisting of DAI, Nathan Associates and CCA, bringing together local knowledge and innovation that encourages private investment; addresses regulatory, institutional, and physical hurdles; and fosters increased intra- and inter- regional trade and investment. At every stage of the value chain, the Trade Hub seeks seek to improve the business-enabling environment and break down regional barriers to trade. Providing support to business, without dealing with the underlying costs and constraints that arise from this environment, cannot be sustained because of high, unreliable transport costs and time-consuming regulatory requirements. Linking competitiveness to improvements in the broader economic environment is central to their approach of promoting trade and increased food security in Southern Africa.
 
The Trade Hub enables CCA to work alongside its members, getting a toehold in a greater number of Southern Africa’s emerging markets. By strengthening its investments and adding value to the agro commodities exported from the region, the Trade Hub enables CCA to identify potential strategic partners who can help navigate the unfamiliar territory, building on findings that success in Africa usually is linked to partnership and outreach. For CCA that means helping U.S. companies find trusted allies in the private sector and government to create new local jobs. It also creates an opportunity for CCA to help Southern African countries identify the broad but under-explored range of opportunities that AGOA offers and to use the AGOA trade preferences.
 
The Trade Hub highlights regional policy barriers as well as informs the private sector of the investments and technical assistance needed. Structuring these difficult conversations between government and the U.S. private sector helps reduce policy barriers and food shortages, and increases employment throughout the region. The program is headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana, with an office in Washington, D.C. at CCA. New business opportunities exist for CCA to partner with its members in East and West Africa on anticipated multi-year USAID-funded trade expansion hub projects, which contribute to USAID’s African Competitiveness and
Trade Expansion Initiative and Feed the Future objectives.

For more information about CCA's role in the Southern Africa Trade Hub, or visit satradehub.org.