Staff Experience

Bringing Trade and Jobs to Terrorism-Affected Areas in Pakistan through Reconstruction Opportunity Zones

In 2009, when the U.S. government sought to establish Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) in Pakistan, they turned to Locus founder and CEO Jean-Paul Gauthier. Jean-Paul provided legal advice on the proposed measure, which would have provided manufacturers in designated industrial estates with the ability to reach U.S. markets tariff-free....

Advising on Jordan's Special Development Areas Law

From 2007 to 2008, Locus founder and CEO Jean-Paul Gauthier advised the Government of Jordan on the drafting of its law establishing special development areas, including the King Hussein Bin Talal Development Area (Mafraq) ...

Bringing the ICT Sector to Kenya

In 2008, the Kenya government designated a 1,000 acre site along the Athi River as an Export Processing Zone (EPZ) designed to attract information and communications technology (ICT) firms. The following year, Locus founder and CEO Jean Paul Gauthier began working with the government on the new zone's...

Helping Botswana Develop a World-Class SEZ Program

In 2008-2009, Locus Founder and CEO Jean-Paul Gauthier helped the Government of Botswana develop its SEZ program. Jean-Paul helped the Ministry of Trade and Investment develop a draft SEZ Policy Framework, SEZ Law, Project Approach and Critical Path, and Governance and PPP Financing Framework. ...

Evaluating the Global Performance of Special Economic Zones

In 2008, Locus Founder and CEO Jean-Paul Gauthier served as overall engagement manager and co-author of "Special Economic Zones: Performance, Lessons Learned, and Implication for Zone Development." The influential and comprehensive report by the the World Bank provides a global review of SEZ experience over the past 30 years. ...

Enhancing the Global Competitiveness of East and Central Africa

Locus founder and CEO Jean-Paul Gauthier served as Project Manager and Team Lead for the establishment of the USAID East and Central Africa Global Competitiveness Hub (ECA Hub).  The ECA Hub is an online platform known as "Compete Africa" that supports businesses in East and Central Africa...

Attracting Creatives to the Dubai Media City

The Dubai Media City was launched in 2001 to attract advertising, communication, marketing, and media companies to Dubai, thereby establishing it as regional creative hub. Today, the city has 20,000 people working in 2,000 international and regional media companies.

Locus Economic Director Santosh Hejmadi served as Director of Marketing for the Dubai Media City ...

Uncovering the Barriers to Investment in Pakistan

The major problems with an economy aren't always what they seem. A common belief in Pakistan was once that the country's written statutes and regulations weren't the problem, but the government agencies implementing those laws. However, when Locus CEO Jean-Paul Gauthier led the World Bank's "Pakistan Administrative Barriers to Investment Study" from 2003-2007, he demonstrated that this wasn't the complete story. ....

Helping Make East and West Africa More Competitive

From 2007-2008, Locus Founder and CEO Jean-Paul Gauthier led the technical work for trade and investment competitiveness assessments for both East and West Africa while working with Deloitte Consulting.

Helping Diversify Nigeria's Economy through State-Level Diagnostics

Nigeria's non-oil industries face serious administrative barriers imposed by sub-national (state) governments.... Locus founder and CEO Jean-Paul Gauthier helped address this problem in 2007 when he served as a senior advisor on the World Bank's Nigeria Sub-national Investment Climate Program. ...

Breaking Down Barriers to Investment in Nepal

In 2006-2007, Locus founder and CEO Jean-Paul Gauthier served as a senior advisor on the World Bank / Foreign Investment Advisory Service's (FIAS) Diagnostic of Nepal's Investment Climate. Nepal's Ministry of Industries, Commerce, and Supplies invited the World Bank team to evaluate barriers to investment....

Stimulating Shared Prosperity in Senegal through Private Investment Promotion

By the mid 2000s, Senegal had achieved steady economic growth, but that growth was only benefiting a small portion of the population.... Central to Jean-Paul's efforts was establishing a one-stop shop for business registration and licensing inside the country's investment promotion agency, APIX....

Clearing Administrative Barriers to Investment in Niger

From 2006-2007, Jean-Paul Gauthier served as TTL and Team Lead for the World Bank's Niger Administrative Barriers to Investment Study. The project was conducted through the Foreign Investment Advisory Service (FIAS), for which Jean-Paul served as the designated SEZ law point person on 38 total projects....

Making Burkina Faso's Investment Climate Leap

Locus is committed to making it easier to do business in our client's countries. ... From 2005 to 2007, Locus founder and CEO Jean-Paul Gauthier led the World Bank / International Finance Corporation's (IFC) "Doing Business Better" Project for Burkina Faso....