2011-2013

 

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) established a “threshold” program to support Liberia’s efforts to address this situation and help Liberia qualify for an MCC Compact. As part of the Threshold program activities, IBI worked as a subcontractor to Deloitte Consulting to support the Trade Policy and Customs Project’s four objectives:   

​

(1) Support tariff harmonization and remove unnecessary non-tariff measures;  

​

(2) Strengthen trade policy institutions and improve their policies;  

​

(3) Modernize customs practices; and  

​

(4) Strengthen protection of intellectual property rights. 

​

IBI’s work focused on supporting the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) and the Liberia Business Registry (LBR) to evaluate their systems and implement a strategy to improve Liberia’s doing business performance. IBI conducted an analysis of the current LBR business registration procedures and proposed a detailed strategy to the GoL to reduce the time, cost, processes and procedures required in starting a business. 

​

In addition, IBI provided technical assistance on developing a Consumer Price Index (CPI) and tracking and monitoring commodity prices for MOCI. IBI provided guidance on the selection of a database that was suitable to implement the price monitoring method selected. IBI supported the database setup, and trained staff in the use of the system which then served as the basis for the future use of a CPI for Liberia. IBI also trained staff within the Division of Domestic Trade to improve the technical skills necessary to upgrade data collection and analysis capacity with the use of simple hardware and software.