After two years of physical disconnect, the moving parts of the African ecosystem have the opportunity to come together at GTR Africa. A great opportunity to connect and network – but how can we ensure synergies to implement solutions between these parts when we all go home after the event? It has never been more necessary to have the discussion of how, than now! The World Bank predicts that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will boost regional income by $450bn by the year 2035 and lift 30 million people out of poverty. This environment should be a game-changer for entrepreneurs on the African continent but there are some very real questions about whether the ecosystem for entrepreneurs is primed for this growth. As an organisation that is positioning itself as the leading Pan-African banking group on the continent, we enjoy some unique insights into the ecosystem on the continent and we see critical challenges which need to be addressed before we can capture the projected growth. Let’s have a look at where we are now, before addressing how we can move forward. FRICTIONLESS COMMERCE While the Fintech eco-system has been the recipient of some significant investment and we have seen significant transactions concluded in places like Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. African-focused entrepreneurs have voiced a key concern in relation to the alignment gaps which exist between the physical and financial “supply-chains”. Consider the textile manufacturing market and trade between Ethiopia and South Africa. These supply chains need...

Summary However, there is a sigh of relief as things are now turning for better as far as trade between Tanzania and Kenya is concerned. Kenya and Tanzania are neighbours, as well as the biggest economies within the East African Community ((EAC). Unfortunately, on-and-off squabbles have characterised cross-border trade between the two nations in recent years. Protectionism is nothing new in trade, but when it adversely affects trading partners, it is meaningless as they all become losers. However, there is a sigh of relief as things are now turning for better as far as trade between Tanzania and Kenya is concerned. Last week, ministers and other government officials from the two nations met, and amicably resolved ten more outstanding issues. Indeed, this is another milestone after 56 issues were resolved in 2021 following the meeting between President Samia Suluhu Hassan and her Kenyan counterpart, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta. The two leaders directed ministers and other officials to meet and resolve what was increasingly becoming a tit-for-tat trade war ranging from imposition of tariffs to destruction of goods. The latest progress is praiseworthy, and the ball should now roll onto traders’ court. The early bird catches the worm, so it is up to traders to take advantage of normalised relations. There are 14 outstanding issues pertaining to trade, which need to be resolved, but we commend the ministers and other officials for setting June 2022 as the deadline to end red tape, and all other trade hurdles. Recent statistics show that annual...

Summary The bloc’s highest decision-making organ, the Heads of State Summit, will review the protocol at the High-Level Summit Retreat on the Common Market before this year’s summit in April. EAC Secretary-General Dr Peter Mathuki confirmed the plan. Described as one of the most ambitious regional integration agreements globally, the CMP was meant to spur intra-EAC trade but partner states have not enjoyed its full benefits. Other trading bottlenecks include Covid-related measures that saw Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda close their borders at the height of the waves of infections, hampering free movement of goods, workers, services and capital. The East African Community is reviewing the Common Market Protocol to allow a smooth entry of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and spur intra-regional trade, which has stagnated at around 15 percent. The bloc’s highest decision-making organ, the Heads of State Summit, will review the protocol at the High-Level Summit Retreat on the Common Market before this year’s summit in April. EAC Secretary-General Dr Peter Mathuki confirmed the plan. The Common Market was adopted in 2009 and entered into force on July 1, 2010, with the aim of boosting the growth of the EAC through free movement of goods, services, labour and capital. Its introduction five years after the first pillar, the Customs Union (2005), required that it combine the region’s economies, create opportunities for the private sector and increase competitiveness. But, 11 years on, its requirements have been hampered by tariff and non-tariff barriers, red tape and noncompliance by the...

Kenya is set to host the first trade facilitation summit in the East African region as the country seeks to increase international trade. The one-day summit themed “Re-imagining Trade Facilitation in an era of Technology” to be held on March 31, 2022, is organised by the Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) as part of its 10 years of trade facilitation celebrations. KenTrade Chief Executive Officer Amos Wangora says over 200 stakeholders in the trade facilitation eco system are expected to attend including members of the African Alliance for eCommerce (AACE) which Kenya is a founder member and current president. Speakers will include Trade Facilitation experts from within and outside the African Continent. The summit is aimed at building linkages between customers in the region and reducing blockages that inhibit international trade. During the summit, KenTrade will also be launching the Trade Facilitation Platform, the upgrade of the Kenya TradeNet System in which TwentyThree Partner Government Agencies have been onboarded. “Kenya is an important regional gateway to the landlocked East Africa and wider Great Lakes countries. The northern corridor links Kenya’s maritime port of Mombasa to Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda. This corridor mainly facilitates intra-regional trade and regional integration by ensuring the smooth movement of goods and persons across member states,” Wangora said. KenTrade is a State Corporation under the National Treasury established in January 2011 to implement and manage the National Electronic Single Window System (KenyaTradeNet System) and to facilitate trade. Kenya TradeNet System...

The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) will put up a yard at the Malaba border in Busia county to contain traffic jams. KPA acting Managing Director John Mwangemi said the yard will remove trucks ferrying goods mainly from Mombasa Port to other parts of the East African region, off the road. He said KPA had embarked on a series of interventions meant to spur growth across the country and region. Traffic gridlock “This yard will offer a permanent solution to the incessant traffic gridlock, which is always witnessed at the Malaba border, sometimes extending to 50 kilometres towards Bungoma,” said Mwangemi. “Upon completion, the marshalling yard will effectively remove trucks from the road, improve efficiency at the border point while improving welfare of the drivers,” he added. Mwangemi made the remarks in a speech read on his behalf by the KPA General Manager for Infrastructure Development Vincent Sidai, during a corporate Golf Nyanza/Western Circuit dinner at Kakamega Sports Club. Read original article

Summary She noted that the government also planned to make adjustments to the Port management which has already started through the appointment of a new board According to her, she had recognized that there was still major challenges in the loading and downloading of oil at the Ports which has been leading to losses Dar es Salaam. Dar es Salaam Port stakeholders hailed a decision by President Samia Suluhu Hassan to work out a plan that would improve the performance of the port. They, however, they cautioned the government that it should look for a foreign partner with the right skills, experience that will benefit the country while at the same time ensuring the local content is adhered to. March 16, this year President Hassan said through a live television interview that the government was looking for partners to improve the system at the Dar es Salaam Port. “We want to modify the collection and expenditure system to integrate them directly to the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) that will ensure three-quarters of the budget comes from the ports,” she said. She noted that the government also planned to make adjustments to the port management, which has already started through the appointment of a new board. According to her, she had recognised that there was still major challenges in the loading and downloading of oil at the ports which has been leading to losses. In view of that, she said the government was planning to purchase through a Bulk Procurement System direct...

As stated by President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi A. Adesina, “trade finance is an important instrument for influencing Africa’s long-term economic development and structural transformation”. According to a report by the AfBB and the African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim), Trade Finance in Africa: Trends Over the Past Decade and Opportunities Ahead, the region was one of the most integrated with the rest of the world in 2011. However, in the last decade, Africa’s trade growth has been one of the worst among the major regions of the world. This is as a result of a number of factors including falling commodity prices, competition, inadequate foreign exchange liquidity, regulatory challenges and access to trade finance, as banks have gradually been scaling back activities from riskier markets. The study showed that although trade finance remains a popular activity among banks in Africa, the participation rates continue to decrease, falling by 16% between 2013 and 2019. As a result, the trade finance gap in Africa averaged USD 91 billion for the period between 2011 to 2019. Furthermore, the trade uncertainty in Africa was exacerbated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a twin supply-demand shock across the continent. Supply was affected by mass production shutdowns and supply chain blockages and demand for products from Africa decreased globally. Despite the persistently large trade finance gap, trade remains a key driver of Africa’s social and economic development. As a result, banks such as the AfDB and Afrexim have sought to stay on top of market developments...

SUMMARY A survey by the Leather Apex Consortium of East Africa (Lacea), which is seeking to establish leather quality infrastructure, finds a sector that is bubbly with optimism and rich material base. A desk study and conversations with industry players and experts across the six EAC members reveals a weak policy environment that discourages investment in value-added products. Leather is one of the most traded agro-driven commodities in the world. At an estimated annual market value of Sh22.8 trillion (USD 200 billion), leather’s revenues are higher than those generated from coffee, tea, rice, rubber, cotton, and sugar combined. Yet East Africa’s share of this pie is a paltry 0.24 percent or Sh54.6 billion (USD 478 million) with its contribution to the East African Community (EAC) Gross Domestic Product a mere 0.28 percent, according to the regional bloc’s Leather Strategy Implementation Roadmap for 2020-2030. This miniscule contribution runs counter to another reality: that East Africa’s leather sector sits on a rich raw material base, playing host to three percent of the world's total bovine herd, five percent of the goats and two percent of the sheep. The strategy, referred to above, identified several obstacles, key of which is the absence of defined production standards. A survey by the Leather Apex Consortium of East Africa (Lacea), which is seeking to establish leather quality infrastructure, finds a sector that is bubbly with optimism and rich material base even as it is held back by low uptake of technology and inadequate supporting policies. A...

Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) through the Uganda Communications Universal Services and Access Fund (UCUSAF) last week launched a call for proposals on how to enhance ICT adoption through digital literacy for rural border communities. The successful applicant will partner with UCC/UCUSAF to implement key activities under a general thematic area of addressing the digital divide amongst 12 rural border communities. The key project action is conducting digital literacy training for up to 2,400 community members (minimum of 200 inhabitants per location) around the border district areas of Kyanika, Oraba, Kagitumba, Mutukula, Vurra, Malaba, Elegu, Bunagana, Busia, Katuna, Mpondwe and Lwakhakha. The successful partner will also be required to conduct a baseline survey on the use of ICTs in the selected border locations. Project objectives To bridge the digital divide and foster digital citizenship To empower communities and make them digitally literate To facilitate utilization of citizen services through digital means To create learning interest To improve life skills To improve employment opportunities and entrepreneurship Background According to UCC, COVID-19 and the social distancing measures implemented to curb the spread of the pandemic, including the urgent need to digitalise work, education, and trade, have rendered digital literacy skills more essential. Greater demand for digital services has exposed the digital divide – the uneven access to and distribution of ICTs in communities. Among the rural population of Uganda, the Commission stated, the adoption of digital skills has previously been left out of public discourse, relegated to the periphery by the disproportional focus...

The Democratic Republic of Congo will be admitted to the East African community (EAC) come March 29th according to the body foundation Dr Peter Mathuki. This will be a big milestone to Congo as it's a fact they have all along been fighting hard to be admitted as members of the East African community a really big world market.   Here is a link: https://twitter.com/NationBreaking/status/1505817619911294980?s=20&t=-luaM7vqm4OKLP0HFntdWA Currently we have Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as the main partners in the EAC hence Congo joining will really bring a lot of boost to the market of the community of nations. This is obviously a welcome move and a clear pointer that the EAC community will be moving big strides moving into the future. The move to admit Congo comes after a wide of consultations among the members of EAC in a bid to expand the market and admit it's new neighbours. This only means that the East African community will be seen as a big market to the world obviously due to it's population size as well it's potential to produce a lot of resources as well to the entire world. The only we can wish Congo as a nation is all the best for making such a big milestone. This clearly demonstrates of the need to trade between all this nations. Congratulations to Congo for ceasing hostilities and focusing on the unity of the county and joining the membership of EAC a move supposed to happen on March 29th this year. Read original article