Implementation of an information, communication, awareness-raising and training plan for associations of small cross-border traders

Forhom by Egis, in partnership with Core Advice, has been awarded a contract for awareness-raising, training and professionalisation of associations of small cross-border traders in the east of the DRC. Forhom by Egis has been selected to develop and implement a capacity-building plan for cross-border associations.

Small-scale cross-border trade plays a major role in the Great Lakes region, where goods (mainly foodstuffs) are traded between the DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia. The term 'small-scale cross-border trade' is explained by the fact that it is essentially informal, providing a means of survival and employment for at least 45,000 traders (the vast majority of whom are women) and those who depend on them. The aim of the project is to help associations overcome the main obstacles and challenges to their development, in particular:

• low start-up capital and lack of access to credit
• the proliferation of taxes in violation of national laws and the multitude of agencies present at borders, particularly in the DRC;
• the lack of knowledge among small border traders of their rights and responsibilities;
• the un-organisation of associations, which lack the skills to develop and implement development plans for the benefit of their members.
• distrustful or even competitive relations between the various traders' associations.

The assignment covers the eastern part of the DRC, more specifically North and South Kivu in Bukavu, Goma, Kasindi and Bunagana.

As part of the objectives pursued, i.e. the development and implementation of an ICS (Information-Communication-Awareness) Plan for associations of small cross-border traders, the consultant's approach focuses on :

Organising training for local trainers, whose task will be to build the capacity of the associations' board members.

• Organising training for local management advisers in order to speed up the formalisation and professionalisation of these associations.
• Drafting guides and manuals for trainers and advisers responsible for supporting the implementation of the ICS Plan.
• Formulation and implementation of an ACT communication plan for a wide range of target audiences (government departments, civil society, NGOs, TFPs) based, among other things, on brochures recounting success stories;
• The formulation and implementation of a Stakeholder Mobilisation Plan to promote the emergence of consultation frameworks and strengthen public-private dialogue (including a programme of annual and thematic meetings), the development of partnerships and the mobilisation of resources.
• The formulation and implementation of a capacity-building plan for associations.
• The design of a monitoring and evaluation framework harmonised with that of the project and sufficiently federative not only to collect data and measure the results of the consultant's actions but also to better involve the partners in the actions to support the associations.
• Setting up a digital platform (a portal), a website to support the communication plan, the stakeholder mobilisation plan and, on the intranet, the project's monitoring and evaluation plan, as well as the management of training and advisory support for TCAs.

Forhom by Egis and its partner Core Advice are mobilising seven main experts as well as social and economic experts and field investigators.