The fast-growing global interdependence in trade and investment and the ensuing fiercer market competitions have changed the way economic development is pursued and assessed. Identifying and maintaining comparative advantages based on endowments, such as natural resources and specializing along those lines is not sufficient. It has become imperative to create new comparative advantages in trade and investment to adapt them to the changing realities. For the Horn of Africa Region, financing shortfalls for trade and investment is one of the deterrent missing links. The capital deficit spans from necessary physical infrastructure and the financial capital to more profound and grand investments vital to the 21st-century global economy.
