Export and investment promotion

The project, which will also strengthen the public sector Belize Tourist Board (BTB) and Office of Economic Development (OED), will be implemented by BCCI and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Commerce, Industry and Tourism. BEIPU, which will provide an array of E/I services, will be established with a staff of seven and will receive long- and short-term TA for institutional development. BEIPU will prepare a marketing plan for Belize, which will detail E/I strategies and will also outline BEIPU"s own plan for achieving financial viability. BEIPU will serve as a one-stop shop for business services related to E/I, e.g., help with registration, clearances, and paperwork; access to local government units; and advice on tax concessions. BEIPU will also participate in/sponsor trade exhibitions and possibly trade missions; prepare promotional/informational materials, establish data bases and develop information networking relationships as needed; and, using the services of the International Executive Service Corps (IESC) and others, provide marketing, packaging, and quality control TA to local manufacturers. To specifically promote nontraditional exports, BEIPU will: help exporters identify markets (especially preferential markets as identified under the Caribbean Basin Initiative, Lome, and Caricom Conventions) and obtain short-term capital; provide brokering services; and sponsor marketing workshops. To promote investment (particularly in tourism), BEIPU will conduct feasibility studies and help foreign investors find local partners (and vice versa). The project will help the BTB to promote Belize as a tourist destination. BTB will develop a marketing plan and a brochure, coordinate activities with U.S. tour operators and wholesalers, encourage the improvement of ground service facilities in an effort to attract cruise ships, and monitor tourism traffic. The Government of Belize (GOB) will support the BTB at project levels for 3 years after the project ends, thus assuring BTB sustainability. Finally, support to OED (3 months of TA, a microcomputer) will help streamline the concession process so that investors are treated fairly and responsively. Amendment of 7/28/88 increases funding and extends PACD to 7/93. For the first time, direct funding will be provided to BCCI for its institutional development, while BEIPU will expand its export promotion activities by increasing the level of TA it provides and initiating a pilot credit program. The amendment also adds an activity to develop Caracol -- the largest Mayan archaeological site in Belize -- as a tourist attraction. A massive architectural complex at the site will be consolidated and stabilized. (PD-AAZ-423) Grant amendment of 12/10/91 adds three activities: (1) BCCI/BEIPU participation in two training programs -- Junior Achievement, which prepares students for the transition from the academic to the business world, and Entrepreneurs International, which conducts training visits for businesspeople to U.S. businesses -- and targeted TA (possibly through IESC) for small export businesses, to benefit about 120 students, 6 entrepreneurs, and 5 small businesses, respectively; (2) a handicrafts development subproject, which will involve the establishment of a marketing center in Belize city and a National Handicraft Board, to provide marketing and product development assistance, training, help in developing promising indigenous materials, etc; and (3) establishment of a Trade and Policy Development Unit within BCCI/BEIPU, to prepare technical papers on the policy environment, provide TA to the Government in policy areas, and develop a trade and investment information system. (PD-ABD-736)