The IOTA Foundation has partnered with a Kenyan firm to enable paperless trade in the region and after a successful pilot, the initiative is expanding to various other trade lanes. Through the partnership, the Foundation is eliminating the cumbersome paper-based processes that plague trade and migrating all the necessary data to the IOTA Tangle. The IOTA Foundation has announced the successful completion of the first phase of its partnership with an East African firm to enable paperless trade in the region. The Foundation joined hands with Trademark East Africa in the project, which sought to replace the cumbersome and costly paper-based processes in the region’s supply chain. It replaced this system with an efficient digital system based on the Tangle, IOTA’s ledger data structure. The Foundation partnered with the Nairobi, Kenya-based firm to create an interconnectivity technology infrastructure for East African entities to “communicate in a transparent, secure, and instantaneous manner, both amongst themselves as well as with international partners.” Trademark East Africa (TMA) is a not-for-profit agency that’s been working to foster the growth of trade in the region. As per its estimates, an African entrepreneur has to fill an average of 96 paper documents for a single transaction. For exporters, the process is even worse. Since they have to share the documents manually, sometimes they lose them and it leads to delays, which are almost always costly. The IOTA Foundation, together with TMA, is seeking to change this. IOTA – Transforming trade, changing lives Their first initiative was the...

Rwanda Finance (RFL) and the East Africa Venture Capital Association (EAVCA) have partnered to enable private investment in Africa through their respective mandates. The RFL-EAVCA partnership will provide a platform for Rwanda to increase its competitiveness as a business and financial hub for private equity through the Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC). EAVCA’s core mandate is to advance East Africa as a private capital destination while ensuring a favourable environment for trade for the business and financial sector. Commenting on the partnership, Nick Barigye, CEO of Rwanda Finance, noted, “Private equity and other types of alternative funding are undisputedly shaping the growth of the private sector alongside standard debt financing. This unique partnership will be at the forefront of building an enabling environment for future capital deployment and long-term savings in the region for both private and public institutions.” The East Africa Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EAVCA) is the trade association for private capital providers, including private equity and venture capital firms. Over the last 8 years, the association has grown in its membership to represent over 90 companies representing DFIs, PE and VC fund managers, asset managers, and advisory firms. Esther Ndeti, Executive Director of the EAVCA stated, “The advancement and promotion of East Africa as a private capital destination while ensuring a favorable environment for trade for the business and financial sector, is at the core of what EAVCA does. We are proud to work with KIFC to strengthen its position as an International Financial Centre...

The continued closure of key border crossings between Rwanda and Uganda has prompted both nations to seek alternative trade prospects and influence amongst their neighbours. For Uganda, recent efforts have centred on Burundi and the DRC, with infrastructure agreements and plans for military cooperation directed at offsetting Rwanda’s recent diplomatic gains with their eastern neighbour. In 2019, Rwanda’s government closed the Katuna border crossing with Uganda, redirecting haulage vehicles on a 110km diversion, before closing further border points and curtailing trade between the two neighbours. Initial justifications for the closure centred on renovations to the crossing, but quickly came to encompass allegations of mistreatment of Rwandans in Uganda. This was accompanied by accusations of Ugandan support for groups hostile to the Rwandan government in Kigali. Despite numerous summits and meetings between the Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, and his Ugandan counterpart since then, the border crossings remain closed. In the absence of tangible progress, Uganda has sought alternative routes for trade. Ugandan Overtures In May, President Yoweri Museveni’s government signed two significant infrastructure deals with neighbouring states. The first was agreed with Burundi, Rwanda’s long-time regional rival, during a state visit when President Museveni hosted Burundi’s President Ndayishimiye. The agreement was for new roads built to circumvallate Rwanda and reconnect Uganda to Burundi. The second was signed just two weeks later, with an agreement for three roads from Uganda’s border into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), costing $334.3 million. Whilst these agreements are driven by an economic rationale and desire...

LUANDA - The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, said on Monday that Africa will soon have a new trading standard with the development of the organization. Mene made the remarks after talks with Angolan President Joao Lourenco over issues related to challenges and development of the AfCFTA, the world's largest free trade area in terms of the number of participating countries. With trade commencing as of Jan. 1, 2021, the AfCFTA represents reality, the secretary-general said, adding that the new standard will facilitate regional trade and investment and boost continental economic integration. Mene said he was very encouraged by the commitment of the Angolan president, who has pledged to give full support to the organization's management. According to Mene, a total of 39 countries have signed and ratified the free trade zone agreement, which means they are committed to removing trade barriers and promoting integration in Africa. At the summit in Kigali, Rwanda in March 2018, 44 countries signed the agreement. A total of 54 countries have signed the agreement so far. Read original article

The volume of cargo transiting along the Northern Corridor in the East African community bloc has reportedly dropped owing to effects of Covid-19 Pandemic. According to the northern corridor transit and transport coordination authority 16th edition report for June 2021, logistics firms involved in the movement, storage, and flow of goods, have been directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Logistics companies connect firms to markets by providing various services, including multimodal transportation, freight forwarding, warehousing, and inventory management. This means that supply chain disruptions to the sector caused by the pandemic could impact transport and trade costs. The Northern Corridor connects Mombasa port in Kenya to Bujumbura in Burundi and is part of the Trans-African Highway (Mombasa – Lagos) while the Tunduma – Moyale road is part of the Cape to Cairo Highway. The Northern Corridor (1,700 km long) commences from the port of Mombasa and serves Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern DRC. Navigating through the Northern corridor you have to trail through; Nairobi – Nakuru – Eldoret – Bungoma – Malaba – Bugiri – Jinja – Kampala – Masaka – Katuna/Gatuna – Kigali – Nemba/Gasenyi – Ngozi – Kayanza – Bugarama – Bujumbura. Agricultural products account for over 40% of all intra-East African Community (EAC) traded goods [WB 2009]. Specifically, coffee, tea, rice, maize, and wheat are the predominant traded products among EAC states consisting of Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi. Between 2011 and 2015, 49% of Kenya’s intra-EAC exports was destined to Uganda, 29% to Tanzania, 10%...

United Kingdom High Commissioner to Tanzania David William Concar has visited the East African Business Council (EABC) Offices in Arusha. EABC is the regional apex body of private sector associations and Corporates from the 6 East African countries which was established in 1997 to foster the interests of the private sector in the integration process of the East African Community. The UK High Commissioner was welcomed by EABC Chief Executive Officer Mr. John Bosco Kalisa on Monday July 05, 2021 which was his debut day in office. TradeMark Africa (TMA) Mr. Kalisa who made his remarks while in his office appreciated the United Kingdom (UK) support to East African Business Council through TradeMark Africa (TMA) and highlighted the importance of the private sector as the driver of socio-economic growth in the East African Community region. TMA works closely with EAC institutions, national governments, the private sector and civil society organizations to increase trade by unlocking economic potential through reducing barriers to trade and increased business competitiveness. It is funded by a range of development agencies to promote prosperity in East Africa through trade. TMA operates on a not-for-profit basis and is funded by the development agencies of the following countries: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, UK, and USA. Established in 2010, TMA supports a portfolio of programmes across the East Africa Community partner countries, working closely with our partners – the EAC Partner States, EAC Secretariat, the private sector and civil society – TMA has made a significant contribution...

 Felix Tshisekedi has been busy on the regional integration front since he became president of the Democratic Republic of Congo two years ago. But he has particularly been busier this year. On June 25, President Tshisekedi met his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame in Rubavu to allegedly assess the damage caused by the recent Nyiragongo volcanic eruption among other bilateral discussions. A week earlier, on June 16, Tshisekedi and President Museveni met at the border post of Mpondwe in the western district of Kasese to launch joint infrastructure construction projects. Museveni says Uganda’s footing of a substantial amount of money to construct the roads inside Congolese territory is aimed at boosting trade between the neigbouring countries. In April this year, Kenya and the DR Congo signed four framework cooperation agreements covering several economic sectors, security and defence as well as maritime transport. Among the four pacts, signed on the second day of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s three-day state visit to DR Congo, was the general cooperation agreement which provides a framework for joint promotion of economic, technical, scientific and socio-cultural programmes. The economic sectors targetted by the broad framework are agriculture, education, health, sports and tourism. Others are environment, SMEs, housing, energy and infrastructure development. Also signed were two separate bilateral agreements on security and defence which provide mechanisms for cooperation between Kenya and DR Congo in areas such as counterterrorism, immigration, cyber security, and customs and border control. The revitalised agreement on maritime freight is aimed at repositioning the port of...

Summary An observer said the competition has seen most ports invest in different modes of transport but noted a need to embrace the Multimodal Transport Treaty, which allows the carriage of goods by at least two different modes of transport, to reduce congestion. A quiet, yet vicious battle for the shipping business is under way in Eastern Africa with Tanzania, Kenya, Djibouti and Somalia as the protagonists. Tanzania, home to the most ambitious port project in the region — the $10 billion Bagamoyo Port — has announced plans to revive it construction, potentially turning the tables on its competitors. The project features a special economic zone and industrial park that are billed to attract at least 700 business units and dominate the freight business along Africa’s Indian Ocean coastline, eclipsing Kenya’s equally ambitious Lamu port project. At a meeting with the Tanzania National Business Council in Dar es Salaam recently, President Samia Suluhu disclosed that her government had revived discussions with the Chinese government with the aim of resuming negotiations over funding for the project. The negotiations were torpedoed by President John Magufuli in May 2019 over what he described as unfair investment conditions proposed by Beijing. The project was mooted by Magufuli’s predecessor Jakaya Kikwete and as one of his key legacy projects. Now hope is rife in Tanzania that the project will soon come to fruition. But in the Horn, DP World, a United Arab Emirates ports operator, opened its upgraded container terminal at Berbera, the main seaport...

In Summary Kenya and Indonesia continue to enjoy a good trade relationship spanning decades. Indonesia imports tea, coffee, and leather products from Kenya while Kenya on the other hand, imports crude palm oil, paper, and textile from Indonesia. Indonesia plans to use the Lamu port to export crude palm oil to Kenya. Indonesia Ambassador Mohamad Hery Saripudin said on Sunday Indonesia wants to promote its shipment activities with Kenya. Speaking when he met Lapsset and KPA officials at the port in Kililana, the envoy expressed satisfaction with the master plan and general development of the port. He also pledged to encourage the Indonesian private sector to consider the port as an alternative shipment for crude palm oil to Kenya. Indonesia and Kenya enjoy a good trade relationship spanning decades. Indonesia imports tea, coffee, and leather products from Kenya while Kenya, on the other hand, imports crude palm oil, paper, and textile from Indonesia. “We are here to know the grand design of Lamu Port and seek possible cooperation with Indonesia. We also want to find ways to promote partnership between stakeholders in Indonesia and the newly inaugurated Lamu Port. "I am sure that Indonesian businesspersons will be happy using this facility, especially if the tariff of service is competitive,” he said. Indonesia is a major supplier of crude palm oil to Kenya. It exported 450 metric tonnes of the commodity last year alone. Thus far, the oil has only been transported via the Mombasa port. “Since the capacity of Lamu...

TDB and TMA will work together towards developing trade supportive infrastructure in the region; Institutions will collaborate on supporting information technology innovations in trade, logistics and transportation; Via trade, institutions will contribute to combatting the effects of the COVID- 19 Nairobi, 18 June 2021 – TradeMark Africa (TMA) and the Eastern and Southern African Trade & Development Bank (TDB) have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that establishes a framework for collaboration ultimately seeking to boost trade in the region served by both institutions. By leveraging the two institutions’ expertise in project development and finance, TMA and TDB will endeavour to jointly pursue targeted investments in trade logistics and production systems, including roads, ports and industrial parks projects, and to facilitate structured trade finance transactions of commodities. Moreover, institutions will work to collaborate in carrying-out analytical and advisory services aiming, among other things, to support the digitization of trade and investment processes as well as information technology innovations in trade, logistics and transportation. Additionally, the MoU provides for the facilitation of innovation and capacity development for regional businesses, so as to enable them to effectively engage in global and regional trade transactions with high development impact. The agreement will also enable TMA and TDB to jointly contribute to mitigating the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region, via enhanced regional trade, trade supportive infrastructure, and digitalization of trade. Speaking during the MoU signing TMA Chairman Amb. Erastus Mwencha hailed the collaboration as one that will greatly support...