Activities developed in 2009 During the year 2009 PISIE has developed nine projects, which focused on different types of activities, like training, technical assistance and research. The projects have been implemented by means of forty-three different expatriated skilled experts, and over a thousand beneficiaries were directly involved, while another about ten thousand were indirectly involved. Over six hundreds companies of some developing countries benefited of the technical assistance or training. Referring to the training, about fifty foreign technical experts have improved their skills with stages through the Italian leather and leather products sector. The following list depicts the most important projects managed by PISIE, for a total value over one million euros:... (read more)

Clustering Strategy for the Leather Sector in Eastern and Southern Africa Leather and leather goods are among the most widely traded and universally used commodities in the world (trade flows are currently estimated at over US$ 60 billion) and long term forecasts suggest that over the next decade the demand for raw materials and finished products may exceed supply. The dynamism of the leather sector in some developing countries has resulted in a move up the value-added chain and, indeed, they already hold almost 60% share of world trade in leather manufactures. However, African countries, despite the abundance of livestock (about 15% of the world’s cattle population and about 25% of the sheep and goat population), still play a modest role in the leather industry (e.g. only 7% of world tanning capacity). ... (read more)