WALTER Rodney, a prominent Guyanese historian, political activist and scholar once wrote details in his book 'How Europe underdeveloped Africa' and many scholars took hats off to him while others saw his shortfalls in his school of thought and labelled it one sided, but perhaps, former Nigerian President Olesegun Obasanjo overruled it all in 1994 while burying Kenya doyen politician Jaramogi Oginga Odinga by saying: "Thank God Africa has been saved from many earthquakes and Tsunami, but the only earthquakes and Tsunami we have are in form of bad leaders." To be precise he was of the opinion that Africa is going back to the oblivion as a result of bad leadership and expects outsiders to develop it as if there has been a binding contract that they must develop the continent. To bring the point home again, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere every now and again talked of the continent fighting three common enemies he named as poverty, diseases and ignorance/ illiteracy, but after five decades from independence the enemies are still eating the continent to its bones including East Africa member states in this context. Leaders (think-tanks in this vein) have thought of coming together to form joint blocs to help them address the challenges, but a prominent Nigerian ScholarChinua Achebe has begged to know if the war would be won if individual member states still treat each other with suspicion through a character he calls Okwonkwo asking his brothers a question that 'how can we fight a common enemy...

The East Africa Trade and Investment Hub is partnering with a new business-to-business platform operated by global shipping and logistics giant Maersk Group in a bid to simplify trade with and within Africa. The Hub, an initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) earlier this month with business-to-business platform Fromtu. As part of the agreement, the Hub will provide Fromtu with market intelligence on trade and business opportunities specific to the platform, including information on East African companies seeking trade and export opportunities and on international trade regulations and standards. The facilitation of business linkages is integral in the Hub's work in promoting intra-regional and international trade, particularly under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). "While traditionally the development community engages with private firms to take on subsidised programmes and make them sustainable, in this particular case the Hub is merely providing technical support to a private sector led initiative, simply strengthening an already sustainable innovation," explains Juan Estrada, the Hub's chief of party. In addition, the Hub will support Fromtu in facilitating and setting up meetings with companies looking to utilise the platform. The partnership is in line with the Hub's goal of connecting East African and US businesses to attract investment that drives economic growth and transforms the East African private sector into vibrant global trading partners. Source: Just Style

The link between India and Africa is a long ancient one. From centuries there has been a constant stream of people and business between the two land masses separated by the Arabian Sea. Yet in the last century, as Indian and other African countries overthrew the yolk of colonialism and moved forth, the bonds to a great extent seem to have weakened. The trade between India and Africa waned, even as China made a big foray into the African continent. It was only in the past two decade or so, when there was a realisation that the ties between the two need to be strengthened. Having realised it, the government of India took significant steps to boost trade ties, signing up MoUs with various African nations, extending line of credit, providing technological know-how, etc. The result is that the bilateral trade with the continent is up five fold in the last decades from about $12 billion in 2005-06 to $56.7 billion. India’s exports to Africa have increased from $7 billion in the same period to about $25 billion in 2015-16 and that accounts of about 9.5% of India’s total exports. Indian Imports from Africa have increased from $4.9 billion in 2005-06 to $31.7 billion in 2015-16 accounting for about 8.3% of total Indian imports. Today, India is the fifth largest country investing in Africa. The bilateral trade between Africa and India is expected to reach $117 billion by 2021. Some 34 African countries enjoy duty-free access to the Indian market....

Bombardier has backed the revitalisation of the Tanzania-Zambia railway to boost the two-nation’s haulage capacity. The 1,860km railway connects Zambia – a landlocked nation in southern Africa – to the seaport of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and is operated by Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA). It is the shortest route to the sea for many central and southern African logistics firms and TAZARA is is working to boost freight on the network. On September 6, Bombardier signed a memorandum of understanding with TAZARA to explore possibilities for investment cooperation. This covers track, rolling stock, signalling and telecomms – via international funding options – to improve the network’s capacity and efficiency. Following the agreement, a joint team will now being formed to agree on the partnership’s scope, after which Bombardier Transportation will submit a full technical and financial proposal. TAZARA managing director Bruno Ching’andu said: “We are delighted to welcome Bombardier Transportation, an acclaimed global leader in rail and aircraft technology, as one of the key partners in our quest to attain medium to long-term aspirations that include investing in rolling stock and infrastructure. “On our part, we remain very open to all possibilities for introducing investments in rolling stock and infrastructure, which is essential for uplifting our capacity and instilling confidence in our customers.” Source: Lusaka Times

Kenya and Uganda will hold talks with China Exim Bank officials October, which could unlock funding for the Malaba-Kampala standard gauge railway. Ministers of finance and transport from both countries will meet with China Exim Bank officials in Beijing in October, where Uganda is expected to receive the final funding approval. “The ministers for transport and finance of Kenya and Uganda are supposed to have engagements with China Exim Bank on the sections of Kisumu to Malaba to Kampala. “Uganda has already submitted their requests for funding for its route and is awaiting appraisals,” a source told The EastAfrican. It is also understood that executives from China Exim Bank will be in Kampala this month to carry out due diligence on the project’s proposal and contract application before negotiations are completed. “The officials will also visit Nairobi and hold key talks with Kenyan officials over the last connection of the Kenyan SGR, which is key to Uganda as its completion will give viability to the Ugandan project. “They will be considering granting Kenya more financing for to Kisumu only if there is a commitment to reach Malaba,” the source said. Kenya Railways managing director Atanas Maina said that Kenya is yet to submit its funding proposal for the section between Malaba and Kisumu as they need to finish the third phase first. “We recently had engagements with Uganda over this last phase. However, we are yet to submit the funding request for Section 2C, because we felt we needed to finish...

Speaking after receiving credentials from Ambassador Dr Detlef Waechter who starts his tour of duty for Tanzania and the EAC, Ambasador Mfumukeko noted that Germany had provided generous technical and financial support to the EAC for almost two decades. He informed Dr Waechter of the significant progress made by the EAC in the four pillars of integration, namely the Customs Union, Common Market, Monetary Union and Political Federation, adding that the Community had made great strides in the said pillars, thanks to political goodwill by the leaders of the partner states. The Secretary General said the EAC, together with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), were at an advanced stage in the negotiations for the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) that brings together 26 countries with a market of over 600 million people. He reaffirmed EAC’s commitment to exploit its human and natural resources for the benefit of the entire region, saying that significant achievements had already been recorded in trade, customs and infrastructure development. He noted that East Africa had a big population of educated but unemployed youth, hence the way forward was for the Community to focus on modernising the agricultural sector through provision of agricultural inputs, value addition and technology. In his remarks, Dr Waechter assured the Secretary General of his country’s commitment to working closely with EAC, to enable the Community attain its objectives in the integration process. The Ambassador said Germany was keen to share with...

As technology advances, conversations around the opportunities and risks posed by automation and digitisation on the future of work especially among women entrepreneurs have inevitably increased. It’s unbelievable to think that twenty years ago, the flexible work structures, environments, work life balance and various roles that have become fundamental to running many businesses with the help of technology did not exist. As technology pushes many entrepreneurs and start-ups towards a future of increased automation and productivity, we also face the impending reality of jobs disappearing. And with such high losses, it’s understandable why so many people are terrified of the future of work. But in between the panic, it also presents an opportunity. So how will these changes affect women in business? The more visible effects would be summarized as loss of jobs, creating successful entrepreneurs and digital nomadism. Women are likely to lose more jobs than men as we move towards a future of increased automation. Roles in office and administration are most at risk of disappearing in the near future and all of which tend to have higher proportions of women. “If the current trajectory continues, women could face 3 million job losses globally and only half a million gains. That’s more than five jobs lost for every job gained. We may be heading towards an even bigger gender gap” once said Mara Swan of Manpower Group. We also know that women entrepreneurs are more successful and ambitious, according to a 2016 BNP Paribas Global Entrepreneur Report. Where...

More than 30 business women in tourism and hospitality were tipped on new skills to become profitable and competitive. The training conducted under the flagship of the International Trade Centre (ITC) seeks to boost skills of the women in the tourism industry to be able to enhance service delivery. The project code named “East Africa: Empowering Women in Trade” seeks to link women entrepreneurs to the  international market,  according to  Diane Sayinzoga, the Head of SEZs and Export at Rwanda Development Board. It also aims at enabling women entrepreneurs working in selected sectors in East Africa to trade by increasing the value of their international business transactions, thus contributing to the goal of raising incomes, and creating jobs along the value chain. The project is an opportunity for women to meet with international counterparts, share knowledge and expertise on how to identify target markets, prepare for promotional events and how to conduct effective contract negotiations. “This initiative is beneficial to Rwanda’s tourism industry and our stakeholders as we seek to expand and transform our tourism market into the ultimate leisure and MICE destination. The project is therefore quite timely in terms of supporting women entrepreneurs especially those in the tourism industry,  Sayinzoga, told Business Times. Carol Namatovu, the Vice Chairperson Rwanda Tours and Travel Association,   said there is need to promote gender equality within the tourism industry to spur growth. “The project is therefore a fundamental pillar in terms of equipping and facilitating the women to tap into the high-...

Trade among African countries is alive and growing, expanding to about 16 per cent in 2014 from 10 per cent in 2000, according to recent data from economists at the African Development Bank (AfDB). Despite this modest improvement, the volume of intra-Africa trade is a paltry $2 trillion when juxtaposed alongside trade between Africa and the rest of the world, which stands at a hefty $77 trillion. The reasons for this trade disequilibrium are obvious. Africa is largely disconnected from itself because of its poor infrastructure, restrictive immigration policies, corruption, failure to formalise informal trade, and unclear customs and immigration rules. Fresh facts emerging, however, suggest a slightly improving scenario. Data for 2003/14 shows that intra-African finance is a significant source of foreign investment in low-and-middle-income countries such as Burundi (79 per cent), Namibia (42 per cent), Rwanda (62 per cent), South Sudan (64 per cent) and Uganda (45 per cent). Intra-Africa tourism barely exists, but West Africa now accounts for 40 per cent of the total African, Caribbean and Pacific trade with the European Union. The 15-member nations of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) account for about 45 per cent of Africa’s trade with the rest of the world. In East Africa, Kenya’s top 10 export markets are Uganda, Tanzania, Netherlands, US, United Kingdom, Pakistan, DR Congo, UAE, South Sudan and Egypt. The five African countries here account for over 30 per cent of Kenya’s total exports. Kenya’s tea makers are, however, yet to make a serious push...

The Ministry of Transport is in talks with Chinese contractors to undertake the dualling of the busy Eastern Bypass, which stretches from Mombasa Road to the Thika Superhighway. Transport and Infrastructure secretary James Macharia, in an interview on Monday, said his ministry is already processing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to be shared with the shortlisted contractors by December. The multi-billion-shilling project is aimed at easing the growing traffic jam on the key road that links motorists from the busy Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Mombasa-Nairobi highway to Thika Superhighway, bypassing the congested central business district. The road, part of the Vision 2030 infrastructure projects, was designed and built during the term of the Grand Coalition government. “Dualling should have been done from day one. They should not have done that road without dualling it,” Mr Macharia said in a telephone interview. “We want to accelerate the dualling and have it done as soon as we arrange financing and that’s why we’re processing these MoUs.” Two years The MoUs, he said, will provide the roadmap for the design and costing of the project expected to take two years once it is commissioned. The dualling of the road was part of 11 infrastructure projects that the Kenyan government delegation showcased to global investors during the two-day Belt and Road Forum for International Co-operation in Beijing, China, in May. Other projects included expansion of the Southern and Northern Bypasses. Mr Macharia did not disclose the firms that will be signing the MoU...