Much as there is financial capital in every business, there is also natural capital. Most businesses don’t realize it, but each and every one relies on products from nature to exist, from the water consumed and electricity used onsite by employees to the products they manufacture and how the basic materials also rely on other aspects […]

Researchers are studying social media and the spread of good news and gleaning some very interesting findings. “By scanning people’s brains and tracking their e-mails and online posts, neuroscientists and psychologists have found that good news can spread faster and farther than disasters and sob stories,” says John Tierny in his 18 March 2013 New […]

Biotechnology or biotech is not just the weird stuff that goes on in Michael Crichton novels (for example Jurassic Park, Next, Prey or The Andromeda Strain). According to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, it is “any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific […]

In an article last March, I talked about the titanic telescope that is to be built in either southern Africa or Australia/New Zealand. Well, in late May, the members of the SKA organization announced that the world’s largest radio telescope would be built in BOTH southern Africa and Australia/New Zealand. In phase one, Australia will host the […]

In November 2011, EnACT, the International Trade Centre’s Enhancing Arab Capacity to Trade programme, gathered 40 companies from all 5 member countries to create better market awareness and enhance business opportunities among them. ITC experts created a business matching map and brought buyers and sellers together to discuss potential complementarities, sell to each other and […]

In 2011, the EnACT programme in Algeria put a special emphasis on supporting the inclusion of women and youth in international trade, specifically focusing on raising awareness of Web marketing  and e-commerce solutions as affordable and efficient tools to conduct business through the World Wide Web, their benefits and their techniques. Jointly with the Ministry […]

The International Trade Centre’s EnACT programme is working in Jordan to create sustainable economic opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by connecting them to international markets and non-traditional high-end buyers. In September 2011, three Jordanian handicraft manufacturers were introduced to the French market through a unique business meeting with the Louvre Museum in Paris. […]

Building on the strong relationship between Morocco and its European trading partners, the EnACT programme in the country is focusing on strengthening links between its leather suppliers and European brands. In Morocco, the leather sector is composed of microenterprises where women and youth make up 70% of the employees. The sector thus has the potential […]

In Tunisia, the handicraft sector is benefitting from the EnACT programme to develop sales opportunities by reaching international buyers. EnACT is also advising the companies on how to adapt their products to new market trends and to meet statutory requirements (labelling, packaging, sanitary regulations, certification, etc.). Handicrafts companies working with the EnACT programme in Tunisia […]

The capacity to trade comes more easily to some societies, and parts of society, than to others. While all societies engage in some sort of trade, reaching out beyond community, village, state or country markets to tap into the wider regional and global markets can be a daunting task, and one that requires enhanced skills, […]