Capacity Building within Member States of the Caribbean Forum for ACP States (CARIFORUM) in the Areas of Competition, Procurement and Customs and Trade Facilitation for the Implementation of the EPA

Despite the potential of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Caribbean countries to drive economic growth, institutional and technical gaps across the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) region had limited its impact. This contract addressed that challenge directly, building the capacity of public and private stakeholders to align policies, implement reforms and create a more competitive and transparent business environment.

Our team focused on strengthening national and regional institutions in three high-impact policy areas: Competition, Public Procurement, and Customs and Trade Facilitation.

Key activities included:

• Needs assessments in each CARIFORUM country to identify gaps and tailor support.
• Promoting EPA business opportunities across the region.
• Delivering more than 45 training seminars and workshops across the region.
• Developing training materials, handbooks and case studies.
• Launching master-level courses in partnership with the University of the West Indies.
• Communication campaign to businesses, government stakeholders and the wider public