On June 13, the USAID Southern Africa Trade Hub (SATH) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa Limited (ECIC).

In its capacity as the official export credit agency of South Africa, ECIC facilitates the provision of trade credit and investment within the Southern Africa (SADC) region. Inter-company credit is the main source of the world's commercial credit. In providing trade credit, suppliers afford their customers the ability to generate revenue before paying; however, in the process they assume the commercial and political risks of their customers and bear the additional costs of financing working capital for an extended period. Trade credit insurance not only shields suppliers from possible default by their customers, but it also allows suppliers to sell more goods on credit terms to customers, thereby increasing trade volumes.

With the attendance of Wal-Mart and several other major global apparel sourcinghouses, this year's Textile and Apparel Business-to-Business (B2B) meeting was bigger and better than ever in its 7-year history. Over 420 pre-arranged and another 40 ad hoc meetings took place between the 56 companies in attendance at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on June 20 and 21.

The primary objective of the B2B meeting is to generate more business for Southern African textile and apparel producers. The event matched regional textile and clothing producers with international and regional garment retailers, brands and wholesalers.

During June, SATH travelled to the border posts in Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique to establish baselines for the time it takes goods to be cleared at these border posts, assess current border operations for government agencies and the private sector involved in the clearance of goods at the borders, and recommend measures to improve the current situation.

At each border post, SATH measured the time it took for goods to be cleared at national borders, interviewed public and private stakeholders, gathered data with regards to procedures and fees, and assessed the adequacy of infrastructure (parking, access roads, electricity, water, telecommunications, buildings, inspections sheds, etc.).

As part of continuing efforts to build a renewable energy regulatory framework necessary for the development of renewables in the SADC region, SATH, in collaboration with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Regional Energy Regulators Association (RERA), is planning a training program aimed at equipping officials responsible for energy planning with the skills and tools to undertake renewable energy resource assessments, data collection and analysis.