Located on the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea on Africa’s west coast, the Togolese Republic is bordered by Ghana, Benin, and Burkina Faso. Togo is home to some 9 million inhabitants and boasts a diverse climate and vast arable lands that hold great potential for agricultural production. The agriculture sector employs most of Togo’s workforce in the production of food crops such as cereals, tubers, and soybeans. Cash crops such as coffee, cocoa, and cotton are also important economic drivers, accounting for 20% of Togo’s export earnings. EIF support to Togo began in 2008. Much has been achieved in the intervening years, particularly with regard to regional integration and the development of the cashew, shea, and soybean sectors both in the country and more broadly in the region.

Niger is a landlocked country of some 26 million people, located in the heart of the Sahel. It is surrounded by Algeria and Libya to the north, Chad to the east, Nigeria and Benin to the south, and Burkina Faso and Mali to the west. This geographical position makes it vulnerable to instability in any of these countries, but also constitutes a strategic location to promote beneficial links between countries to the north and south. The EIF partnership with the Government of Niger began in 2005 with a Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS) undertaken by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The DTIS was adopted in 2010 by the Council of Ministers, following an extensive consultative process involving multiple stakeholders in government, development partners, the public and private sectors and civil society. The DTIS highlighted development priorities for Niger, particularly the need to integrate trade into the country’s development strategies and the regional and global trading system. The subsequent 2015 DTIS Update notes: "Niger's geographical position, landlocked and on the periphery of a region with multiple geopolitical and economic constraints, makes trade facilitation the key to the country's commercial integration - and beyond that, to its growth and development."

Stretching along the Indian Ocean coastline from southern to eastern Africa, Mozambique is endowed with rich arable land, water sources, energy, and mineral resources, including newly discovered natural gas deposits off its coast. The country is strategically located as a gateway to global markets for its bordering landlocked neighbours – Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Eswatini. Mozambique’s main economic sectors are agriculture, mining and extractive industries, energy, transport and logistics, as well as tourism. There is also a growing manufacturing and industrial sector focused mainly on textiles, cement and agro-processing. Mozambique also provides services, including financial, telecommunications and retail services. Of its population of around 33 million, 70% are mainly employed in agriculture, primarily in small-scale or subsistence farming.

Guinea-Bissau is a coastal West African country with a population of some 2.2 million people (2024) that is bordered by Senegal to the north and Guinea to the south and east. Fishing, tourism and agriculture are the main drivers of the economy, with a high level of dependence on the cashew sector. This single crop is grown by some 69% of the country’s subsistence farmers, with 5% of the country’s land dedicated to cashew production. Cashew accounts for more than 90% of the country’s export earnings and 10% of government tax revenue. Guinea-Bissau imports most of its basic food, including rice, wheat flour and sugar, which are staples in the country. The EIF has been supporting Guinea-Bissau since 2010 with a goal of achieving four key milestones: 1) establishing government policies that boost trade and economic development and ensuring that trade is integrated into national development and poverty reduction strategies; 2) improving coordination of development partners’ activities; 3) increasing Aid for Trade (AfT); and 4) strengthening the country’s productive sectors and export capacities.

To promote economic growth, EIF support to Liberia centred on tackling supply-side constraints to trade. The goal of enhancing trade was to reduce extreme poverty, estimated to exceed 80% in 2003. The EIF’s engagement also demonstrates its commitment to fostering partnerships that promote local ownership of Liberia’s development agenda. Initially, support focused on establishing strong institutional structures and strengthening capacity to develop policies and mainstream trade into national strategies.

The EIF's efforts to support Angola through a pro-poor trade agenda crystallized moreover under a recent partnership between the Government of Angola and UNDP.

The partnership between The Gambia and the EIF began with country-led evidence‑based research and analysis to identify its pro-poor trade priorities. The resulting policy-guiding document – the 2007 Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS) – identified diversification and domestic production of goods and services in the areas of tourism, groundnuts and other agriculture products and fishing as sectors with the potential to spur sustainable development.

The EIF support to Malawi began in 2012. The Government of Malawi, through the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), sought to use the EIF partnership to unlock Malawi's latent trade potential through targeted support in three strategic areas: i) strengthening the capacity of the MTI to develop trade policies and strategies and to participate more effectively in the World Trade Organization and regional trade agreements; ii) addressing challenges faced by smallholder farmers to trade; and iii) supporting the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC) to better promote exports and investments for the agro-industry, including working with the World Bank in establishing the groundwork for an agro-processing special economic zone.

EIF’s support to Somalia has been limited and has exclusively focused on the country's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) by supporting capacity-building around skills to navigate the trade landscape.

The partnership between Bhutan and the EIF stretches back to 2009. Directly contributing to several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth, the EIF facility was well aligned to work within the context of Bhutan's development philosophy. The EIF supported the development of Bhutan's trade agenda roadmap, improving policies supporting pro-poor trade and strengthening institutional coordination, including human capacity for trade and development. Beyond this, the EIF contributed to building the productive capacity of farmers SMEs and facilitated the country's ability to leverage additional funding through catalytic project support.

Tuvalu, a small set of islands in the Pacific Ocean, is having to work harder than most other least developed countries to find ways of improving the lives of its population. Trade for development provides an opportunity, but its size, insularity and remoteness constrain trade in terms of supply capacity, global and regional market access and trade competitiveness.

The Government of Benin established a partnership with the EIF in 2003, embarking on the development of a Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS) and Action Matrix, along with evidence‑based and government-led analysis of constraints and opportunities for making trade work for economic prosperity and poverty reduction. The DTIS was completed in 2005, with an update ten years later. Together, the studies have provided a roadmap for progress toward the goal of supporting small businesses to trade and develop the kinds of jobs that improve lives and spur sustainable economic development.

Since 2019, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, with support from the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), has been implementing the “Enhancing Capacity for Agriculture Trade” (ECAT) project across Solomon Islands. The Ministry of Health and Medical Services, and that of agriculture and livestock, are also involved.

Farming is a demanding sector, particularly for those seeking to compete in the global market. Many farmers in Zambia are unable to meet international standards and other requirements in importing countries that can help them implement good agricultural practices and stand out on the world stage.

Building forward and backward production linkages between agricultural and manufacturing sectors by adding value to primary commodities should be a priority for LDCs. Taking incremental steps towards industrialisation through increased productive capacities, with the support of development partners, will ensure that progress will be sustainable and robust, truly leading LDCs along the path of development. 

Most of Rwanda’s cross border traders are women and rely on cross-border trade as their sole source of income. According to a recent assessment by Pro-Femmes/Twese Hamwe, the Rwandan umbrella organisation for women’s associations, most cross border traders have experienced not only a large loss in revenue due to border closures but also a complete depletion of their savings.