The EU is supporting efforts in the Horn of Africa that will boost regional economic integration and trade.  Djibouti’s major trading partner countries include Ethiopia and troubled Somalia. Trade Mark Africa is helping implement a single window system which is already in use across EAC. The EU has expressed its support for Djibouti’s plan to enhance connectivity within the Horn of Africa, a move that will promote trade with Ethiopia, one of the region’s biggest trade partners. This collaboration is in sync with the African Alliance for e-commerce, a consortium comprising 18 member countries, dedicated to advancing the Single Window concept. This alignment adheres to the recommendations set forth by international institutions. A pivotal project within the Alliance is the establishment of a Regional Single Window, designed to seamlessly interconnect all national platforms. The overarching goal is to streamline trade processes, bolstering the competitiveness of African nations on the global stage. The ninth edition of the International Single Window Conference went down in Djibouti from September 25 to 26. The conference focus was on investment opportunities and ongoing developments across the Africa that will enhance global trade efficiency. The EU’s involvement in the region is geared towards fostering regional economic integration and facilitating trade in line with the objectives outlined in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). A pivotal element of this partnership is the EU’s support for the Horn of Africa Initiative’s strategy, working in collaboration with the governments of the Republic of Djibouti and the Federal Democratic...

Addis Ababa, September 29, 2023 (FBC) – The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu officially inaugurated the Moyale Cross Boarder Development Facilitation Office earlier today. According to IGAD Division of Health and Social Development, the office will support communities on Moyale – Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. Furthermore, the IGAD Executive Secretary arrived this morning in Moyale – the border town between Ethiopia and Kenya to preside over the inauguration of the facilitation office. Workneh and his entourage planted tree seedlings on arrival at the Moyale One Stop Border Post between Kenya and Ethiopia where the inauguration ceremony was presided over. The IGAD ES, in his remarks at the inaugural event, said; “IGAD has had a steadfast presence in the Moyale area for more than 2 decades. We’ve been working tirelessly to support our member states in implementing various borderland programs, along with numerous projects led by our divisions and specialized institutions and in partnership with the EuropeanUnion and German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit).” Mr. Workneh added, “Today, as we open the IGAD Cross Border Development Facilitation Office in Moyale, we are bringing all these various initiatives under one umbrella, united by the theme of “One IGAD.” Moreover, several infrastructure projects will be implemented in Moyale on both sides of the boarder following the normalization of peace in the community. Under the Regional Migration Fund several initiatives have been launched on Ethiopia’s side of Moyale supported by KfW Development Bank (KfW...

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Djibouti, Mr. Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed, kicked off the 9th edition of the International Single Window Conference at the Kempinski Hotel on Monday, 25 September 2023. Several members of the government, including the Minister of Infrastructure and Equipment, Mr. Hassan Houmed Ibrahim, the Minister Delegate in charge of the Digital Economy and Innovation, Ms. Mariam Hamadou Ali, as well as the President of the Authority Ports and Free Zones of Djibouti (APZFD), Mr. Aboubaker Omar Hadi, took part in this conference. In addition to the Republic of Djibouti, the African Alliance for Electronic Commerce is a partner of this event organised with the support of the European Union (EU). The two-day international conference highlights investment opportunities and ongoing developments on the African continent that will improve trade efficiency globally. This involves putting in place mechanisms likely to stimulate regional economic integration and facilitate regional trade, in accordance with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). This is one of the objectives underlying the economic and commercial strategy of the Horn of Africa Initiative to which Djibouti is part of and is a collaborative effort with the Federal Republic of Ethiopia. The EU has committed 32 million euros as part of the program "Promoting regional economic integration in the Horn of Africa through the development of the Djibouti corridor", implemented by the French Development Agency (AFD ) and trade-aid-organisation TradeMark Africa (TMA). The program aims to improve the efficiency of one of...

September 26, 2023 Kenya News Agency The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with TradeMark Africa to partner on the Agriculture Sector Data Gateway (ASDG). During the event, Kello Harsama, Principal Secretary of Crop Development who signed MOU on behalf of the Ministry, emphasised that this initiative will provide real-time information to a wide range of stakeholders, including policymakers, farmers, the private sector, donors, and researchers. He said the move will keep stakeholders more informed on the decision-making process, foster overall growth in the agricultural sector, and contribute to the advancement of digital government services in a wider vision for efficient citizen service delivery. Harsama also highlighted that the collaboration will focus on developing additional registries and integrating with key ministry data platforms like the Kenya Integrated Agriculture Management Information System (KIAMIS). This integration will enable the expansion of modules and use cases and promote data system integration at both national and county government levels. The goal is to fully harness the potential of the platform to transform the agricultural sector and ensure data-driven decision-making in priority initiatives. Furthermore, the corporation will work towards the adoption of a Data Governance Framework, facilitating seamless data exchange among stakeholders to drive the transformation of the agriculture sector. Additionally, they will provide training and capacity-building for data stewards and key stakeholders to facilitate the handover to custodians and operationalise the platform at both county and national levels. Harsama also mentioned that the ASDG is evolving into a...

The recent one-week AEO -ERMS piloting workshop for fifteen selected companies at URA headquarters in Nakawa paved the way for the automation of systems. Uganda Revenue Authority ( URA) is equipping the Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) in Enterprise Risk Management practices (ERMS). The recent one-week AEO -ERMS piloting workshop for fifteen selected companies at URA headquarters in Nakawa paved the way for the automation of systems. Abel Kagumire, the URA's Commissioner for Customs department said the AEO system has been manual with all associated problems such as loss of paper documents, and delays, among others. He said AEO was established in line with the World Customs Organization (WCO) safe framework of Standards supporting supply chain security by rewarding non-risky international trade supply chain players accountable with minimal risks they pose along the supply chain. "URA has so far accredited 121 national and 39 regional AEOs that had contributed 33% of Revenue collection as of 30th June this year," said Kagumire. He said they want the number of AEOs to be increased to 200 by the close of this year for enhancement of voluntary compliance in tax remittance. He said the AEO  project entered into two mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) with South African Revenue Services (Stars)  and the State Taxation Administration of the Republic of China. "This means that AEOs in Uganda are recognised in China and South Africa and are availed with all the befits of AEO ERMS in the two countries," said Kagumire. James Malinzi, the URA's Assistant Commissioner...

By providing the framework to establish robust regional value chains, the African Continental Free Trade Area will help to develop the continent's industry and agriculture and drive prosperity. The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has been hailed, rightly, as having the potential to very considerably alter the continent’s fortunes for the better. A good deal of this conviction is based on the AfCFTA’s principal mandate which is to forge regional value chains (RVCs). Likewise, just as the AfCFTA fosters the establishment and consolidation of RVCs, so do strong RVCs provide the web of interconnected cogs and springs that keep the AfCFTA going deeper and further. The AfCFTA and RVCs are mutually reinforcing factors in the pursuit of Africa’s integration and development agenda. African economies have been characterised by a heavy reliance on the export of raw materials, often failing to capture the full value of these resources. This traditional export model not only limits economic diversification but also perpetuates vulnerability to external shocks. The AfCFTA offers a unique chance to reverse this trend by fostering intra-regional trade and encouraging the creation of RVCs. The development of RVCs involves a multi-step process that encompasses various stages of production within a region, from raw material extraction and processing to production of intermediate goods, to final product assembly. Read original article

What you need to know: Kenya, for example, produces wheat, which is mainly milled into flour that costs approximately Sh100 per kilogramme, or Sh100,000 per tonne. However, the country imports processed wheat products such as noodles expensively, yet they can easily be produced locally given a conducive environment. Kenneth Kurui, a smallholder wheat farmer in Narok County, sells unprocessed produce to local millers at Sh6,000 per 90 kg bag, or Sh66,000 per tonne. In the same breath, Indofood, an Indonesian company that adds value to wheat by making Indomie, sells the beef-flavoured noodles to Kurui at Sh45 per 120 grammes packet, which translates to Sh375,000 per tonne. With the difference of more than Sh309,000 between a tonne of unprocessed wheat and a tonne of indomie, still, Kurui has to lease the land on which he grows the wheat, cultivate it, buy the seed and other farm inputs, and weed before counting the cost of harvesting, activities that consume more than half of his gross income. “Due to poor local market prices against the ever-rising cost of inputs, coupled with devastating climatic conditions, we as smallholders are forced to invest with a lot of caution because many are times when we end up with losses,” said Kurui, who also works in Nairobi to supplement his wheat farming venture. However, the recently released 2023 Africa Agriculture Status Report (AASR) points out that there is still a window of hope for smallholder farmers like Kurui, but only if governments puts in place policies...

Authorities in Amuru district have instituted a land committee that is expected to oversee the allocation of over 250 acres of land to potential developers. According to Amuru district leaders, the titled acres of land is situated at Elegu Town Council along Uganda – South Sudan border and it shall be acquired through lease offer at minimal fees. Currently, hundreds of encroachers have established commercial, residential, and makeshift structures at Elegu Town Council without the approval of the technical officers making it difficult for Amuru district to execute planned infrastructure expansion in the sectors of education, health and roads. Similarly Amuru district is set to construct shillings 4 billion bulk market at Elegu Town Council, which is situated along Uganda- South Sudan border. Amuru district leaders disclosed that the funds for the establishment of the modern border market were provided by Trade Mark Africa with support from the Danish government. Michael Lakony, the Amuru district local council five chairperson revealed that, the processes of sourcing for a contractor have kicked off, and groundbreaking is expected to be carried out early next month. The border market, which will consist of two annexes, is expected to enhance the trade flows in raw materials, commodities, and services that connect the globalized world. Previously, makeshift structures used by hundreds of traders at Elegu Town Council were phrone to regular fire outbreaks that normally cause destruction to merchandise of the traders operating in the area. Read original article

Kenya is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa and the largest economy in East Africa. A hub into Africa and a hub to the world. The port of Mombasa is the most visible hinge, a well-functioning port that has throughout history been able to attract foreign investments with increased trade activities as a result. Kenyatta International Airport, the new deep sea port in Lamu, border facilities in Namanga, Busia and Moyale, as well as Lake Victoria trade from Kisumu are testimony that Kenya holds a regional hub function. The Netherlands remains among Kenya’s top trade and investment partners. Since independence, the Netherlands has been among the top five global destination of Kenyan goods and the largest in Europe. Kenyan exports to Netherlands have more than doubled over the past 10 years to stand at Sh69.7 billion (561 million euros) in 2022. During the first six months of this year, Kenyan exports to the Netherlands are at nearly Sh40 billion, a sign of continuing growth. At the same time, the Netherlands is among the top five sources of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Kenya. So, we can easily say that Kenya and the Netherlands enjoy strong trade relations with agriculture, and specifically horticulture, as a key driver. Behind this success story is a steadfast Dutch partnership to address various business climate challenges in Kenya. TradeMark Africa, International Finance Corporation (IFC), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) and International Development Law Organization (IDLO) have been important partners in...

As fashion giants are imposing varied standards and requirements for clothing manufacturers and exporters in the developing countries, including Bangladesh, it impedes making factories environment-friendly and sustainable in transition process. In this connection, trade experts argue that there should be some harmonisation of standards regarding the green factories producing ready-made garments (RMG) so that more manufactures feel encouraged to join the rally on eco-friendly path of doing business. They made the observations in a working session of the WTO Public Forum 2023 on Thursday in Geneva. Panellists at the discussion, titled 'Green trade measures and their development implications: a focus on the textiles and clothing global value chain', also argued that urgent action is needed to address the emerging global climate emergency. They also noted that new sectoral initiatives driven by needs to achieve net-zero point on carbon emissions have increased, including in the textiles and clothing sector. As the sector has historically been typical in reducing poverty through trade, it has enabled many countries like Bangladesh to gain a foothold into industrialisation and global value chains, they said. Taking part in the session as a panellist, Dr Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the Dhaka-based Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said the export-oriented textiles and readymade garment (RMG) sector is an important driving force of Bangladesh's economy as it is a source of employment generation and foreign-exchange earning. She mentioned that, in the fiscal year 2022-23, the sector earned US$ 48.36 billion which accounted for 87.06 per cent of the...