Investment Monitoring Platform

For African Governments, information is indispensable in the design of effective investment promotion policies. The problem is that the information and data publicly available is usually too sketchy and fragmented to allow for informed decisions by the main players in the investment promotion process. UNIDO's investment promotion strategy is to address these challenges by developing an investment-related information platform, with the assistance of Microsoft, which draws on periodical and extensive enterprise-based surveys.

Once the methodology is in place, UNIDO will conduct an enterprise-level survey in 35 African countries and launch the investment monitoring platform. The concept was adopted by the Conference of African Ministers of Industry, and the ACP Committee to the European Commission. Financing for the platform is provided through the European Union Economic Development Fund as well as matching funds from UNIDO, Italy and possibly other countries. The platform links the main players and stakeholders—government and national authorities, private sector investors, financial institutions, civil societies and development partners—in the investment promotion and development process.

The use of the monitoring platform will facilitate new business partnerships and enable government institutions to allocate scarce resources on a more effective and sustainable base. Users are beneficiaries of the platform and providers of inputs to it. Investment Promotion Agencies, Regional Economic Communities and private sector organizations will benefit from UNIDO assistance to develop the capacities to utilize the platform for evidence based policy and strategy formulation and for making more informed investment decisions.