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In terms of contribution to real GDP growth, construction leads the pack, weighing in with 22.7 per cent of economic growth output last year, followed by transport and storage (15.6 per cent), agriculture (10.5 per cent) and information and communication (9.8 per cent). According to new reports seen by the Financial Times compiled separately by the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the four sectors have consistently been strong performers over the past few years. The country’s economy has recorded robust growth over the past decade, with real GDP expanding at an average rate of 7.1 per cent between 2013 and 2017, making Tanzania one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Visit epaper.ippmedia.com to read more stories Source IPP Media

The agreement was reached after a meeting in Mogadishu between President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo of Somalia and Ethiopia’s newly installed prime minister Abiy Ahmed. Officials did not say which ports would be developed. A joint technical team is to be formed immediately to outline proposals. The text of the agreement can be seen here. The development is being view as part of the complicated politics of the region, which is in the shadow of the struggle between the Gulf states on one side and Turkey, Qatar and Iran on the other, as well as Ethiopia’s difficult relations with Eritrea and the position of the breakaway Republic of Somaliland. In recent years Ethiopia has been moving closer to the UAE, and the announcement follows a pledge from the UAE to give it $3bn in aid. Under the terms of that deal, the money will be used as capital investment in construction projects. Ahmed Shide, Ethiopia’s communication affairs minister, said the money would significantly further the country’s development goals. The UAE is thought to be interested in investing in industrial parks, which have become an important part of Ethiopia’s strategy of building up an export-oriented manufacturing sector, as well as healthcare and hospitality projects. One billion dollars will be deposited in Ethiopia’s central bank to ease its foreign currency shortages. These have become so severe that the government has been considering the privatisation of Ethiopia Airlines, Africa’s fastest growing carrier. State-owned Ethio-Telecom, which has more than 65 million subscribers, has also just...

Arusha. A continent-wide online platform to support women entrepreneurs has been launched with the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB). The 50 Million African Women Speak Networking Platform Project (50MWS) will provide financial and non-financial information to women entrepreneurs within the African continent including the East African Community (EAC). “That would enable them to interact and grow their businesses,” said Mary Makoffu, the EAC director of social services. She added although there were already such platforms for women in business across the region, EAC was keen to partner and build on the existing structures “to better deliver on this project.” Besides the EAC, 50MWS is also being implemented in three other regional blocs, the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), the Common Market for Southern and Eastern Africa (Comesa) and the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). “This is a good opportunity for women in business in respective regional economic communities (RECS) to penetrate markets of other blocs”, she pointed out. To introduce the three-year project, the EAC secretariat recently conducted meetings targeting ministries responsible for Gender, ICT, Trade and EAC Affairs as well as the civil societies. Each member state would, thereafter, be required to form respective country team that will help in collection of information to upload into the platform. The ministries responsible for Gender in each country, which normally disburse funds to support women’s economic activities, will be in charge of 50MWS coordination. “50MWS Project will also contribute to reduce to zero gender that were observed...

Arusha. Market driven integration will top the sixth annual East African Community (EAC) Secretary General’s Forum slated for Nairobi early next week. The forum, which has been held every year since 2012, aims at providing an opportunity to the private sector, civil society and other interest groups to share experiences on regional integration efforts. It is convened by the EAC secretariat in collaboration with the Regional Dialogue Committee, which comprises members from partner states. “This year’s forum will review the work plan and progress reports on the consultative dialogue framework for the private sector, civil society and interest groups,” EAC said in a statement yesterday. The framework was adopted during a recent meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers, which is the policy organ of the six-nation community. About 100 delegates drawn from the private sector and civil society organisations as well as professional bodies, media, trade unions and EAC institutions are expected at the two-day meeting, which will start on July 23. Themed “Strategising for Impact:People-Centred and Market-Driven Integration’ the forum is expected to redefine the way forward in the EAC integration efforts. Through consultation and dialogue, non-state actors and EAC and partner states officials are expected to agree on concrete policy measures on issues pertaining to integration. Holding of the annual forum among key players in the EAC integration process was endorsed by the EAC Council of Ministers in 2012 and since then five EAC SG’s forums have been held in different capitals. Source The Citizen

Shoppers and revelers at the forthcoming Rwanda International Trade Fair are encouraged to use electronic payments to access the exhibition premises as organisers announced they will also accept card-based payments, adding impetus to the country’s ambitions towards a cashless economy. The expo, which starts on July 26, will be hosted at the Gikondo Expo Grounds in Kicukiro District, is expected to attract over 500 exhibitors from over 20 countries. According to officials from the Private Sector Federation (PSF), the organisers of the annual exhibition, there will be no more tickets at the entrance as revelers will use Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. NFC-enabled devices such as ordinary transport smartcards locally known as Tap and Go and the Quick Response (QR) code system powered by mobile money, will be used, according to Faustin Karasira, the Director of Operations at the Gikondo-based Federation. Speaking during an interview with The New Times, Karasira said that the cashless system will ease transaction, accuracy and prevent long queues, especially at the entrance. “We’re are employing more payment options in cashless transactions including smart cards, visa or master cards because we found that it is totally possible in the country and can be effective,” he said. He added that several banks and IT companies have approached them to have their products integrated into the system at Expo 2018. “Banks, telecom companies and AC-Group (providers of Tap and Go) are with us. If you have your transport smart card you can tap and continue. The same with a...

Kenyan farmers can increase their annual profits by between 7.1 per cent and 76.3 per cent with the use of digital farming technologies that can be helpful in keeping records and monitoring crop and livestock health, according to a 2015 research conducted by UK innovation foundation Nesta. Such technologies, which include mobile applications, enhance farming activities and improve yields. Therefore, government institutions such as the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro) and industry experts are driving the adoption of these tools in a bid to reduce post-harvest losses through provision of timely and accurate information directly to the farmers’ phones. Eska, a mobile app developed by botanist and biochemist Samuel Kamya, is used to detect crop diseases and deficiency of important nutrients such as phosphorus. It was launched in August 2017, at a time when Sh150 billion worth of produce went to waste in the country due to pest infestation and inadequate market access. “As a botanist, I understand the problems that farmers go through in order to benefit from farming; they have to overcome pest infestation, attack by diseases and a lack of nutrients. These problems can be solved by using software, so we developed an app that is powered by artificial intelligence,” said Kamya. Once installed on an android smartphone, the user taps its icon, which accesses the smartphone’s camera. When pointed to a plant under investigation, it displays the results on the screen. By monitoring crops, the user is able to quarantine and deal with the...

Kenya will double its contribution to Africa50 to Sh10.07 billion (USD 100m) by the end of the year, as the pan-African infrastructural investor seeks to increase its support for the government’s development agenda. This will increase Kenya’s share capital from the current Sh5 billion, becoming a significant shareholder of the financial institution, as the country seeks increased partnership for its infrastructural development projects. President Uhuru Kenyatta said Africa50 has demonstrated its commitment to helping address country’s annual deficit of about Sh200 billion in the infrastructural sector. Kenya’s move will increase Africa50’s total capital to about Sh88.7 billion (USD 880m), boosting the investor’s funding capacity in infrastructural projects across Africa. “I am delighted to note that the Africa50 is leading a fresh approach to infrastructural investment, one that merits the support of every government on our continent. Today I am pleased to announce that Kenya will double its current shareholding in Afriac50, raising its investment now to USD 100 million,” President Kenyatta said on Thursday. He added that the government will work more closely with Africa50 in the country’s infrastructural projects. Emulate project The president also challenged the private sector to emulate Afriac50 and help governments across the continent to fund infrastructural projects. Currently, the pan-African infrastructural investor is in talks with the government to partner in the expansion of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to increase its cargo handling capacity by 10 per cent from its annual current capacity of one million tonnes. Africa50 is an infrastructural investor established by...

Kenya is a likely beneficiary of another US export window being considered to replace the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) after seven years, experts have hinted. Agoa, which grants the country and 40 other African states quota and duty-free access to the US market of more than 6,000 product lines expires in 2025. “Establishing a more stable, permanent, and mutually-beneficial trade and investment framework with the United States could be transformative for Africa,” said US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer while hinting at the new trade plan. According to administration sources cited by US think tank Covington’s Global Policy Watch, a branch of a US law firm working on various policy issues, Kenya, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire could be early contenders for a trade accord with Washington. “We are excited about the prospect of entering into a successful free trade agreement (FTA) with an African country. We believe that this will be good for the United States, the FTA partner, and ultimately Africa,” Mr Lighthizer has been quoted saying. He is reported to have made the comments after African and US officials, private sector representatives, and members of civil society organisations met last week in Washington. 2025 onwards The US hosted the 17th Agoa Forum where discussions also focused on options for a “post-Agoa” model from 2025 onwards, including the possibility of crafting free trade deals. Mr Lighthizer said that he is looking to “announce exploratory talks soon,” without confirming which countries might be first on the docket for...

TANZANIA is set to benefit from a new route which will open up SADC trade corridor to capture and channel trade flows from Zambia and DR Congo to Dar es Salaam port. Zambia and DR Congo begin upgrading of 182km Kasomeno-Kasenga- Chalwe-Mwenda road to dual carriageway through a public-private partnership next year to feed into the Dar es Salaam port currently undergoing major upgrading work to increase its handling capacity from its present 13.8m tonnes of cargo per annum, to 28m tonnes by 2020. The US$ 475 million road project will offer an alternative and shorter route for cargo traffic from Lubumbashi, the mineral rich provinces in DRC’s Katanga region to the Dar es Salaam port. The construction work will be undertaken by Groupe European de Development (GED) Africa and will include a 350 metre cable-stayed bridge and two one-stop border posts, in the DRC and Zambia. According to the GED Chief Executive Officer, Rene Hutton-Mills when completed, the new road will offer an alternative and shorter route for over 600 mineral loaded trucks that travel between Katanga and the Dar es Salaam port. “The new route will be 32 kilometres shorter which will take approximately five days. It will be fitted with modern streamlined border and customs infrastructure and systems.” On the latter, he added that, cross border trade will be further enhanced and streamlined by the introduction of a bespoke Smart Transit System, developed in conjunction with Singaporean Global eTrade Services, a Crimson Logic subsidiary, to fast track...