Mid-term evaluation of the West Africa trade and investment hub and USAID assistance to regional organizations

The evaluation team conducted qualitative interviews with 89 key public and private sector stakeholders across 12 countries, three focus group discussions, structured observations, and a review of project documents. The evaluation concluded that WATIH has made progress toward improving grades and standards and market information systems, but access to finance is lagging due to implementation capacity challenges and macroeconomic factors. Linkage events for buyers and sellers have not resulted in many executed deals despite the high attendance and popularity of these events. Many local stakeholders would prefer to have a direct relationship with USAID, but the coordination and administrative burdens of transferring the hub's reach to a series of direct partnerships would be prohibitive. USAID's support has been critical to the effectiveness of key regional organizations. However, many of these groups are reliant on donor funds and do not appear to be progressing toward sustainability. (Author abstract, modified)