SRO-SA Consultant to develop green regional value chains in Mauritius Manufacturing in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) (SRO/SA)

Result of Service The objective of the consultancy is to undertake a study on sustainable/green regional value chain in Mauritius manufacturing in the context of the AfCFTA

Expected duration 6 Months

The budget line to be charged is Grant: M1-32HDM-000217; Funds: 32HDM; WBS Element/IO: SB-012012.01; Activity 2.2.2; Year: M99.

Duties and Responsibilities ECA Sub-Regional Office for Southern Africa (SRO-SA) & Africa Trade Policy Centre (ATPC)

MAURITIUS GREEN MANUFACTURING VALUE CHAINS PROJECT

Develop Green Regional Value Chain in Mauritius Manufacturing in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

PROJECT BACKGROUND:

Mauritius is a small island developing state (SIDS) that is increasingly moving towards sustainability. The country ranks first in the UNCTAD transformation index in Africa, which testifies the effort that the country has deployed over the last decades to position itself as a reliable manufacturing hub in the Sub-Saharan Africa. With the start of trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and as a pilot participant of the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative, Mauritius has a major role to play in the Southern African region and rest of the continent as a producer and supplier of goods and services. Already, Mauritius has embarked on a national process of formulating an AfCFTA National Response strategy which has been finalized and validated and will now be implemented. It is anticipated that, among others, the AfCFTA will help Mauritius to: - transform itself further into a competitive export-led economy, supported by a thriving domestic market and in pursuit of regional markets. - increase production and consumption of locally and regionally produced goods and services. - boost services exports and position itself as a regional trade gateway. - enhance employment and business opportunities for Mauritius’s growing population; and - create additional market opportunities to advance its national export growth agenda including through the building of a green, blue and digital economy.

In line with the above, Mauritius was one of the first African Member States to sign and deposit instruments of its ratification. The main objective of the AfCFTA was among others to create a single market for goods and services, boost intra-African trade and intra-African investment and promote industrial development on the continent. Mauritius will leverage on this free trade area to establish additional development pathways in a bid to boost its trade with Africa and attract higher levels of investment by tapping into regional value chains. Notwithstanding the fact that regional manufacturing value chains, and in particular, green regional value chains, are grossly underdeveloped and somewhat non-existent, the island has been very committed to engage in sustainable consumption and production and is encouraging manufacturing companies to embrace sustainable production patterns as part of its deliberate strategy to build a sustainable/green economy. The textile and apparel (T&A) sectors have been the major contributors to the Mauritian economy and have enormous potential to develop and commercialize green value chains. The potential of other sectors outside of T&A should also be considered as Mauritius aims to consolidate its industrial diversification strategy.

1.1 Mauritian context

While Mauritius has enjoyed rapid economic progress over four decades, it is currently at a crossroad facing significant socioeconomic challenges which have been amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges associated with climate change and environmental degradation. Against this backdrop, coordinated actions are required from all national stakeholders to transform the Mauritian manufacturing value chain into a sustainable-cum-circular economy system. Moreover, the manufacturing sector has the potential to foster the development of backward linkages and forward linkages. Mauritius offers investors a conducive environment for doing business which guarantees predictability, certainty and security with its wide network of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements and Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (IPPAs). Mauritius is amongst the top 20 countries in the world for ease of doing business and has over the years consolidated its leadership position in Sub Saharan Africa.

1.2 The Mauritian Manufacturing sector

The GVA for the manufacturing sector has plateaued over the past years which is a matter of concern. Mauritius imports almost all raw materials to be transformed into products mainly geared towards exports. In 2021, Mauritius imported USD 5.2 Bn of goods while the trade balance was offset by an export of USD 1.7 Bn for the same comparative year. Mauritius has developed a competitive edge in textile and apparel, seafood processing, sugar and agro-processing and has harnessed new segments such as medical devices, pharmaceutical products, high-end jewellery, Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM), precision engineering, metal fabrication products and optical products. Based on several decades of expertise and experience, Mauritian textile has been the major income earner within the industry sector. As a matter of example, the country imported USD 230 M worth of raw materials in the T&A sector to export USD 559 M worth of yarns, fabric and garment after transformation and value addition.

Objectives of the consultancy and of Study

The objective of the consultancy is to undertake a study on sustainable/green regional value chain in Mauritius manufacturing in the context of the AfCFTA that will: 1. Motivate a case for developing a green manufacturing industry in Mauritius in the context of the AfCFTA and the global climate change context, with a link to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Mauritius National Vision 2030; 2. Elaborate a strategy for developing sustainable regional value chains in the Mauritian Manufacturing industry, focusing on selected sectors and using a case study approach. 3. Assess the competitiveness of Mauritius as a green investment hub for the SADC and Africa regions, that can be further developed to position Mauritius in a growing global green economy; 4. Propose investment strategies and incentives to further upgrade the business climate of Mauritius for green manufacturing and promote Mauritius as a green manufacturing investment destination in the region and globally. 5. Propose recommendations and demonstrate through case studies how Mauritius can engage in green manufacturing product development through backward, forward and horizontal linkages with due attention paid on market demand and supply in Africa.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The consultant will report to and perform the assignment under the direct supervision of the representatives of the EDB and the Economic Affairs Officer of ECA Sub regional Office for Southern Africa (ECA-SRO-SA), Sub regional Initiatives Section (SRIS), and under the overall guidance of the Chief of ECA-SRO-SA SRIS. Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Regional Integration will also provide feedback and comments. Upon mutual agreement, there will be a fortnightly reporting on progress in the implementation of the project and appropriate guidance provided on quality and timely delivery on the assignment.

The successful Consultant will have the following list of duties and responsibilities:

The International Consultant will assess and outline sustainable regional value chain development in the manufacturing sector of Mauritius with attention paid to the possibilities for developing horizontal, backward and forward linkages between the sub-sectors to position Mauritius within a global and regional green economy under the AfCFTA. The Economic Development Board (EDB), with technical and financial assistance from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) (Sub-Regional Office for Southern Africa and Africa Trade Policy Center) will assist in conducting consultations and field activities in Mauritius to gather data and intelligence for these defined sub-sectors.

In this context, the international consultant is sought to conduct in-depth study to identify viable business strategies that will bring revenue to the country and deliver on the objectives of green/sustainable industrial development for Mauritius and for the country to regain the High-Income status. The recommendations should also include commercialization of green value chain highlighting sustainable investment incentives benchmarking for setting up of any other forward, backward and horizontal linkages.

The consultant shall use well-established and recognized methodologies to undertake the below tasks: (a) Articulate an analytical case for developing and commercializing green value chains in Mauritius with a focus on the T&A and light engineering sectors, based on theoretical constructs and empirical analysis (including cost competitiveness) and making references to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Mauritius National Vision, National AfCFTA Response Strategy, the SADC industrialization Strategy and Roadmap and relevant AU strategic documents; (b) Outline the key success factors in attracting investment from the regional and global markets towards the development of green manufacturing value chains while considering countries like Turkey, China, India and Taiwan. (c) Provide a list of main policy recommendations and sustainable investment incentives benchmarked with South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia to upgrade the attractiveness of the Mauritian business climate and using other countries from the Global South and the North as successes from which Mauritius can learn; (d) Outline the potential viable products and business strategies (backward, forward and horizontal linkages) that Mauritius has to develop to integrate into Green Manufacturing Value Chains (e) Propose green supply chain models for one or two selected sectors of Mauritius linking suppliers to manufacturers and wholesalers/retailers across Africa in a bid to establish relationships with supply chain partners and create significant value and resilience to the value chains; (f) Conduct stakeholder consultations in the form of workshops with a view to garner consensus on the best approaches to the development of the green value chains in Mauritius for the T&A sector; (g) Prepare and validate the report on green value chains development in the manufacturing sector in Mauritius in the context of AfCFTA and the National AfCFTA Response Strategy; (h) Undertake two missions to Mauritius to engage with stakeholders and collect the relevant data.

The specific deliverables from this assignment will include: -

1. A 10-page (max) inception report outlining the understanding of the task, issues to be addressed, methodology and sources of information; an annotated outline of the study and a list of references, to be reviewed and approved by ECA and EDB; 2. A draft report of the findings and recommendations of the study; 3. A final report of the findings and recommendations of the study incorporating comments and perspectives from both the UNECA and the Economic Development Board of Mauritius and other relevant stakeholders; 4. A Word file containing all charts, figures and tables that are editable in WORD. 5. An excel file containing the databases used to generate the charts, figures and tables of the study. 6. Terms of reference of the two missions to be undertaken to Mauritius and Mission reports upon completion of said missions; 7. Power point presentations and workshop reports (Validation workshop) 8. Participation and facilitation as a resource person at the Validation workshop

Qualifications/special skills Advanced University Degree (Master’s Degree or Equivalent) in Economics, Engineering, Industry, Environment, Development planning, financial management or other related fields IS REQUIRED. A minimum of ten (10) years of relevant work experience in (market assessments, local economic development, investment strategies, value chain development, strategic planning); In-depth understanding of the African T&A landscape, issues and challenges to source from Africa, existing and upcoming value chains in Africa; Good knowledge of sustainable consumption and production, and circular economy concepts and principles; Experience in working with international and national NGOs and UN organizations, or with government authorities at national level. The candidate should also have a good publication record, including in the field of industrial development. Good computer skills for compilation and analysis of statistical data are required.

Languages English and French are the working of the United Nations ,for this study ,Fluency in English is required

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.