FIAS' Enterprise Benchmarking Program (EBP) offers developing countries an innovative tool to gauge their ability to compete with other locations for foreign direct investment. The EBP framework, developed by MIGA's former technical assistance (TA) unit and now implemented by FIAS' Investment Policy and Promotion Unit (incorporating the MIGA TA team), provides for comparative analysis of a location's competitiveness by sector. The end result is a practical 'snapshot' of operating costs and conditions as well as opportunities, which can assist prospective investors in identifying potential project locations for additional research specific to their unique requirements. Policymakers and investment promotion intermediaries (IPIs) benefit from the data in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of their location products from the investors' perspective.

The EBP was rolled out on a regional basis following its successful pilot in Asia. Snapshot Asia, published in 2003, reported the findings of a study that benchmarked two industry sectors in six Asian countries. Following its publication, MIGA received requests from client countries to undertake several similar studies.

Western Balkans. Investment Horizons: Western Balkans, published in 2004, reports the findings of a study of foreign direct investment costs and conditions for automotive component manufacturing and food and beverage processing in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro. The study was designed in conjunction with the ongoing . Invest in the Western Balkans program (IIWB), a FIAS-managed initiative focused on the Western Balkans and funded by the Austrian government and the European Union.

Sub-Saharan Africa. The wide-ranging Africa study benchmarked costs and conditions of six key industries in nine sub-Saharan African countries and was published in late 2006, including country analyses distributed to each of the client governments, and a combined Snapshot Africa report. African countries covered in the study included Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda, plus Mauritius and South Africa as 'comparators.' The study examined these sectors for most of the subject countries: apparel, textile manufacturing, call centers, tourism, horticulture, and food and beverages. The findings for each country-including a SWOT analysis and cross-comparisons of costs of operation and quality of investment environment (by sector)-were summarized in Snapshot Africa. The country analyses were made available only to the respective investment promotion agencies aand were intended as a basis for discussions with private sector representatives and the donor community.

Caribbean and Central America. In collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, a benchmarking study of four countries in the Caribbean and Central America was published in 2007. Snapshot Caribbean summarizes the study's findings on the competitiveness of Belize, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and St. Lucia in three sectors: tourism, offshore services, and agribusiness. The report includes both country and sector snapshots.http

Afghanistan. This single country analysis of sector competitiveness-Investment Horizons: Afghanistan-was released in 2005. The report assesses prospects for foreign direct investment in transport and logistics, carpets and textiles, and food and beverage processing. The study was part of a larger project funded through a grant from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (also known as BMZ - Bundesministerium fur wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung).

The EBP is closely coordinated with the investment climate work of the World Bank and IFC, and seeks to complement the World Bank Group's analytic and policy dialogue tools, such as the Enterprise Surveys and the Doing Business indicators. The program includes an advisory panel to provide representatives of the World Bank's investment climate unit, Development Economics, and FIAS with an opportunity to advise on the program strategy and review all work products. This coordination is intended to facilitate the EBP's ful1 integration with the World Bank's private sector development agenda. The benchmarking methodology is regularly updated to reflect the ongoing experience developed in its implementation, and to ensure that it is generating data that is useful and used by FIAS clients. FIAS will continue to deploy the EBP on a global basis, responding to client needs and demands, and in coordination with World Bank, FIAS, and the IFC PEP facilities.