Opening markets
How a small open economy can turn rising exports into diversified, resilient growth – linking export promotion with industrial and innovation policy.
The challenge
A small, open economy with a strategic location, a business-friendly environment and a growing network of free trade agreements has seen its exports grow strongly. Yet they remain concentrated in a few products and markets, integration into global value chains is limited, and productivity and high-quality jobs lag behind. Exporters pointed to little knowledge of foreign standards, weak visibility in target markets, expensive finance and few instruments to win or keep large customers, while public support was spread across institutions without a shared strategy. The government wanted to shift towards higher value-added exports in more sectors and markets – and build resilience against external shocks.
Our work
On behalf of a multilateral development bank, our experts examined which policy approaches stimulate exports most effectively. We selected exemplar sectors – including a science-based health manufacturing niche, apparel and an emerging agri-food value chain – and future circular-economy opportunities, and assessed each through value-chain, export-potential and competitiveness analysis and a SWOT grounded in more than 25 stakeholder interviews. Drawing on international good practice, including upper-middle-income outperformers, we organised more than 25 recommendations in a framework of seven export promotion elements that follows the exporter journey – from awareness and market entry to closing deals and keeping customers – and links export promotion with industrial and innovation policy.
The impact
The government now has a coherent agenda instead of isolated measures. Three priorities – a new national export promotion strategy with key performance indicators, a ‘Team’ coordination platform bringing together government, private sector and development partners, and an implementation roadmap – provide a realistic sequence for reform and are informing the government’s competitiveness strategy. Implementation has been launched.
