Pakistan Investment Promotion Activity (IPA) Project

USAID Pakistan Investment Promotion Activity (IPA) is a five-year project that aims to strengthen Pakistan’s business enabling environment to build greater credibility of Pakistani institutions and improve the ecosystem of FDI and increase US-Pakistan bilateral trade and investment. It has the following main objectives:
Objective 1: Address the business enabling regulatory environment for investment promotion.
Objective 2: Address institutional reforms, ease of compliance and doing business, and transparency
Objective 3: Address U.S.-Pakistan bilateral trade and investment.
Objective 4: Address the mobilization of FDI and U.S.-Pakistan bilateral trade.
For each objective, the project aims to include a strategy based on best practices and lessons learned, activity resources and coordination, a menu of potential interventions and indicators, and quality standards to measure performance.
Semiotics Consultants have been entrusted to support the project for the first two objectives, by providing suitable professional long- and short-term technical assistance, during course of the project. 

Services Provided

(i) Providing experts against long-term positions for the first two project objectives, as well as experts for assigned short-term task orders.
(ii)  Providing experts for the following, completed and ongoing, Task Orders to IPA, as main subcontractor.
Investment Climate Analysis
Semiotics provided technical assistance to undertake a concise and targeted diagnostic and situational analysis to identify the strengths (what is working well) and the challenges (what is not working well) within the existing investment policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks at both the Federal and Provincial levels.

Trade & Investment Promotion Strategy for Govt of the Punjab
Semiotics provided technical assistance to take review documents/plans existing at the Board for promotion of trade and investment. Ascertain how prominent economic sectors of Punjab can be promoted further for attracting FDIs. Develop a Trade and Investment Promotion Strategy for Government of Punjab.

Review & Modification of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Framework for Govt of Sindh
Semiotics provided technical assistance for a thorough review of the PPP Framework. The experts also recommended modifications after a series of stakeholder consultations.

Capacity Review of Priority Sectors of Boards of Investment (BoIs) across Pakistan
Semiotics provided technical assistance for an analytical review of the existing approach, methodology and technical capacity at the federal and provincial Boards of Investment for selecting and prioritizing sectors for investment promotion. Experts also suggested guidelines for adopting appropriate sector selection and prioritization approach.

Support to Board of Investment on Regulatory Reforms in Priority Sectors
Semiotics provided a team of experts to identify unnecessary and redundant regulations in priority sectors with recommendations for elimination and simplification / modernization of cumbersome procedures, by means of analysis, dialogue with relevant public-private stakeholders and through review of best practices in comparable economies.

Institutional Support to the Trade Dispute Resolution Organization (TDRO)
Semiotics provided expert services for development of a road map to assist TDRO in effectively delivering its services, as mandated and envisioned in the reformed TDR Bill 2022. Activities comprised review of existing institutional arrangement and capacities at TDRO. Engagement with key stakeholders from the public and private sector, to define working arrangements between TDRO, trade representative bodies, chambers, embassies and their representatives. Consultations with federal and provincial governments to develop coordination mechanism and linkages with relevant departments for handling trade disputes and the associated final determinations to be made to resolve the matters between international importers and exporters.

Trainings on Gender Equality and Female Empowerment
Semiotics provided services of a prominent Gender Expert for designing generic and specific training modules on “Gender Equality and Female Empowerment”, for integration in IPA’s overall trainings on trade and investment and other initiatives. The gender expert also helped with delivering trainings to IPA’s grantees and public and private sector organization/entities relevant to IPA’s scope and its targets.
The two main purposes of these trainings was:
1. To mainstream women in trade & investment sectors, where the focus group is businesswomen.
2.  To sensitize IPA beneficiaries and public and private officials on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) guidelines, Female Empowerment, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) framework and Social Disclosure Guidelines, where the focus groups could be men as well as women officials or business leaders.

Export Readiness Trainings for Women-led Businesses
Semiotics provided the services of an expert for developing training content and conducting export readiness trainings for women-led businesses, in collaboration with Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP). The consultant designed training modules and conducted trainings sessions in major cities.

Development of Unsolicited Proposals (USP) Policy for Sindh 
Semiotics has provided technical experts to analyze current legal and administrative procedures and processes governing USPs in Sindh. The process will culminate in development of a dedicated USP Policy which will serve to provide a framework covering standard operating procedures (SOPs) and other technical and operational aspects of handling USPs.
 

Client

USAID

Associated Practice Area/s

Economic Growth/Business Enabling Environment/Private Sector Development