On Tuesday 18, a ceremony was held at the Ressano Garcia border to mark the UK Government’s provision of Covid-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as part of £200,000 of UK funding to enable safe trade on Mozambique’s borders with South Africa and Malawi. UK funding has been used to purchase PPE for customs and border officials at Calomue and Zobue borders (with Malawi) and Ressano Garcia border (with South Africa) to help maintain a safe working environment and minimise disruptions along key supply chains. The fund is part of the The Safe Trade Programme, which is implemented by TradeMark Africa (TMA), an organisation that works to enhance the trade environment and increase business competitiveness in East Africa. The UK has been providing support to TMA in East Africa since 2010 and has recently supported the organisation to expand its operations to Malawi and Mozambique. Other funding partners include Ireland, Canada and the Netherlands Speaking at the ceremony, Sarah Love, Deputy Development Director at the British High Commission in Maputo said: “The UK is funding TMA in Mozambique and Malawi through the Safe Trade programme which is partnering with the Revenue Authority to implement measures to ensure that safe trade can continue during this COVID-19 pandemic. UK funding of £200,000 has enabled the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment for customs and border officials and the development of a joint emergency response to COVID-19 at these locations. This support will ensure a safe working environment for border agency staff and in turn...

"Since the start of the pandemic, truck drivers have continually served regional economies by delivering essential transportation services of medicines, food and other commodities even with the numerous challenges presented by COVID-19 protocols and risks to life,” reads the letter signed off by Mercy Ireri, the Association’s chief operations officer. Kenya Transporters Association hailed the Ugandan government for allowing truckers from across the region to get vaccinated for free. In a Friday letter to Minister for Health Jane Aceng, the Association thanked President Museveni for “Uganda's initiative to give free Covid -19 vaccination to truck drivers regardless of their nationality and age cross the borders into Uganda.” “Since the start of the pandemic, truck drivers have continually served regional economies by delivering essential transportation services of medicines, food and other commodities even with the numerous challenges presented by COVID-19 protocols and risks to life,” reads the letter signed off by Mercy Ireri, the Association’s chief operations officer. “We also thank the Ministry of Health, Uganda for prioritising to vaccinate this important section of the population for FREE. Covid-19 does not recognise borders. We are one region and we depend on each other.” Ireri noted that Port Health Uganda informed them that if 80% of drivers crossing the borders are vaccinated, there may be a chance to stop Covid-19 testing of drivers crossing the borders. “On behalf of all Kenya Transporters and drivers, we say, THANK YOU TO THE UGANDA GOVERNMENT,” reads the letter. “We hope the Kenya Government will soon...

The Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI), an umbrella body for private sector players in the country, feels the next decade is scaring as its members face stiff competition from counterparts within Africa. The chamber says most products it lobbied to be protected under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) have been included on the sensitive list to be covered within the first 13 years of implementing the pact. The development has sent private sector players shivering over possible intense competition. According to articles of the AfCFTA, least developed countries, Malawi inclusive, will be given three opportunities including a list of goods that are categorised as non-sensitive products that will be traded for free in the next 10 years. The second opportunity entails that sensitive products will be traded for free in the next 13 years from date of ratification and lastly an exclusion list containing local products that will be protected and will attract duty if imported. MCCCI Director of Business Environment and Policy Advocacy Madalitso Kazembe said the requirement is that non-sensitive products must be 90 percent of tariff lines, sensitive products must be more than 7 percent of tariff lines while exclusion list must be not more than 3 percent of the tariff lines. “We gave our advice accordingly on the products that we felt needed protection but, at the end of the day, based on the structure of the agreement, it is leaning more towards opening up as such most of the...

Summary Partner states discovered that limited access to information on business, opportunities, networks and access to market are reasons why businesses owned by women are not thriving across the continent. The 50 Million African Women Speak Networking Platform Project (50 MAWS project) platform aims at empowering women economically through a networking financial platform. Women in business will access information and financial services. Specifically, the platform will improve the ability of women entrepreneurs to network and exchange information as well as access information on financial and non-financial services. Christine Akot Akumu is the focal person for 50MAWSP.  She is also the principal gender officer at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD). She explains how businesswomen will benefit from the financial network. What is this digital platform about? It is about the use of smartphones to access information and services for women in business. It allows women to access financial and non-financial information to grow their business, offers opportunities relevant for their business and creates important business networks among them. The digital platform is expected to address key development challenges that women- owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face in: a) Accessing financial information needed to grow their business; b) Accessing opportunities relevant to their business needs; and c) Creating important business networks. What is the genesis of this platform? How did the idea come about? The 50 Million African Women Speak Networking Platform Project (50 MAWS project) is supported by the African Development Bank that cuts across three...

Ian Lessem, Managing Partner at HAVAÍC, investors in early-stage, high-growth technology businesses, notes a significant increase in investment demand for African technology startups. Startups on the continent are at a distinct advantage because they compete out of necessity. As a result, they can, and very often do stand toe to toe with startups in more the established tech hubs of Palo Alto, Singapore, London and Tel Aviv. African innovators face local challenges so pervasive; they simply have no choice but to tackle them head on and become subject matter experts in finding solutions for real world problems like food security, health, education, safety, financial services and logistics. African technology driven solutions borne out of necessity create efficiencies, new products and opportunities, and most importantly solve local challenges that resonate globally. Because of this they have the inherent ability to leap across national boundaries and sidestep the usual rules of cultural friction. With the world having quickly adjusted to the realities of the ongoing global social and economic crisis as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, solutions that solve real world challenges are without a doubt the best opportunities for growth. People and businesses are craving solutions that make their day to day lives easier, better and less frictional, and the pace at which they are adopting technology to do this continues to accelerate. Not only does HAVAÍC support promising startups, it also understands the power of unlocking the potential of Venture Capital (VC) as an investment class in Africa. Investing...

DAR ES SALAAM, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The expansion of the six-member East African Community (EAC) is in progress, the EAC's Secretary General, Peter Mathuki, said on Friday. Mathuki said the expansion of the bloc was in progress with steps to process the Democratic Republic of Congo for admission now at an advanced stage, according to a statement issued by the EAC headquarters in Tanzania's Arusha. Mathuki said the EAC was keen on moving to the next level by strengthening trade and cooperation with other nations and regional economic communities. He said the EAC was seeking strategic partners for trade and investment as it expands the regional market. EAC member states currently include Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. Enditem Read original article

May 20, last week, was a big day in Kenya’s history. As the Indian Ocean waters roared softly, Lamu Port roared to life. On hand to witness this epic birth was President Kenyatta Kenyatta. The President and his entourage cheered on as MV CAP Carmel, a 204-metre Singaporean ship became the first vessel to dock into the port. It had sailed from the Port of Dar es Salaam, on its way to Salalah in Oman. Lamu Port is a big deal, not just economically, but literally. Because its depth is 17.5 metres compared to Mombasa’s 15 metres it can handle bigger ships with capacities of up to 12,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). Mombasa Port handles ship with capacities of up to 10,000 TEUs. In addition, Lamu’s berths are a whopping 400 metres, compared to Mombasa’s 300 metres. Evidently, this is a big port that will handle big vessels. The question is, will it generate big profits in increasingly bigger fashion? Yes, it can. However, for this to happen we must build an efficient team for the port to conquer the world, specifically the ports in Durban, Eritrea, Somaliland and Djibouti port, which are our biggest competitors. Our port operations have been dogged with myriad inefficiencies. Failure to address the team element at this crucial stage may amount to simply changing the forest and introducing the same monkeys. We must not cower in fear at the fact that Ethiopia seems to be edging towards the Somaliland, Djibouti and Eritrea ports. Currently,...

Reliable and affordable energy sources of energy are key to the attainment of all the four stages of the EAC integration, namely the Customs Union, Common Market, Monetary Union and Political Federation. EAC Secretary General Hon. Dr. Peter Mathuki said that energy was a driver and enabler of all sectors of the economy, adding that the harmonisation of Partner States’ national policies governing energy was therefore critical. Dr. Mathuki said that harmonising energy policies in the region and making energy affordable was crucial to improving the business environment in East Africa and increasing its attractiveness as an investment and trade hub. “The first thing an investor seeking to set up in a country usually asks is the cost of energy. We need to reduce the costs of energy in the region to facilitate investment,” said Dr. Mathuki. Dr. Mathuki was speaking at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania when he received the Executive Secretary of the Energy Regulator Association of East Africa (EREA), Dr. Geoffrey Mabea, who paid him a courtesy call in his office. Dr. Mathuki said that EAC was keen to partner with EREA as part of efforts to inform policy and decision making on energy matters at both the national and regional levels. The Secretary General urged EREA to put in place a structured engagement framework for the harmonisation of energy policies in the region. He advised the association to seek observer status at the EAC especially on matters to do with trade, infrastructure, energy and investment....

With all the challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic has presented to Africa, there are many exciting changes afoot, and few are potentially more impactful than the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). The AfCFTA is an exciting game changer agreement for the countries who are signatories. Currently, Africa accounts for just 2% of global trade. And only 17% of African exports are intra-continental, compared with 59% in Asia and 68% in Europe. The pact is designed to create the largest free trade area in the world measured by the number of countries participating. Connecting 1.3 billion people across 55 countries with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) valued at $3.4trn. It will boost regional income by 7% or $450bn, and lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty by 2035. Wages for both skilled and unskilled workers will also be boosted by 10.3% for unskilled workers, and 9.8% for skilled workers. While the Covid-19 pandemic has thrown a harsh spotlight on the vulnerabilities of global supply chains, the putting in place of the AfCFTA agreement couldn’t be more timely for Africa. AfCFTA is a catalyst for new ways of doing business, producing, working and trading within Africa and with the rest of the world. It highlights the significant and increasing commitment of the African Union to reducing poverty through trade. As Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, newly appointed as the WTO director general, recently stated, “Trade is a force for good, and properly harnessed can help lift millions out of poverty and bring...

Tanzanian government will mobilise the development of the textile and garment industries as it works towards improving the ease of doing business in the country. The ministry of industry and trade is in the process of consulting stakeholders from various industries to review 22 laws and implement regulatory reforms for improving the business environment. In the budget for financial year 2021-22 announced last week, Tanzanian government amended two laws through the Finance Act of 2020 and is in the process of introducing the Trade Remedies Act of 2021 to protect local businesses, control importation of products and market distortion by subsidised products which come to the local market at lower prices. The proposed law has already been submitted to the government for further action, Tanzanian media reports said quoting industry and trade minister Kitila Mkumbo. The government of the country is looking to improve the policies and laws to create a conducive business environment. It will also cooperate with businesses to create a market for the local products, Mkumbo said. Tanzania has also scrapped over 232 taxes, fees, levies to reduce the time and costs for securing licenses and permits to do business in the country, the minister added. The news comes on the heels of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s suggestions to ministers and government officials to improve the ease of doing business in Tanzania and amend laws that hindered investments. Read original article