The East African region is experiencing unprecedented obstacles to food trade, hurting livelihoods and derailing economic progress. Food insecurity, in its various forms, is one of the most significant challenges facing East African region and the wider Nile Basin member countries. About 140 million people in the basin (or 34 percent of the population of the basin states) are undernourished, with the level of severity varying from country to country, according to the ‘State of the Nile Basin’ report 2012. A rapidly growing population, coupled with increasing urbanisation and climate change, point to a worsening food security situation. Trade is usually one of the ways by which countries meet their food requirements, beyond what they can produce locally. The region possesses immense untapped potential not only to meet its own food needs but also to grow extra food to support other counties and use proceeds to improve the economies of the region. This potential to use food trade between member countries of the Nile Basin, however, faces numerous challenges. Several studies carried out on the subject of food security point to the low levels of production within member countries and generally much of Africa, as the most significant impediment to food trade. Too little is produced, leaving households with nothing left for sale. In Uganda, for example, one of the major food producers in the region, subsistence farming still accounts for more than 50 percent of the country’s farming households, according to the Uganda Census 2014. Lack of investments and...

There are 42 currencies in Africa which makes it difficult to easily transact between countries due to conversion needs which create a lot of inconveniences. This challenge may however be a thing of the past if plans to have a uniform payment and settlement platform sail through under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The secretariat has announced seeking ways to ease the burden of doing business using 42 currencies on the continent which is a major boost to trade under the trade agreement. The AfCFTA secretariat is working with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to develop a pan-African payment and settlement platform which will help overcome the challenge posed by the multiplicity of currencies on the continent. AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene notes that a uniform payments platform will eliminate the costly process of converting currencies which contributes to the inefficient trade patterns on the continent. In addition to this good news, the Covid-19 pandemic was a silver lining for Africa’s integration since the continent has to create its own solutions to its problems. As such, Africa needs not only to harmonise its financial systems but also step up productive and infrastructural integration. The African Regional Integration Index (ARII) which provides up-to-date data on the status of regional integration in Africa and assesses the level of integration for every regional economic community and its member countries shows that Africa needs to do more to integrate its systems into the different sectors of the economy. ARII is a joint publication...

Trade has a critical role to play in rebuilding developing and least developed countries’ economies, alleviating rising poverty and creating a greener, more inclusive future for all. This was a unifying theme that ran through three days of panels discussions and debates at the Aid-for-Trade Stocktaking event the World Trade Organization (WTO) hosted online from March 23 to 25. Covid-19 has reversed 30 years of development gains, deepening inequalities from the household to country level and threatening to push 150 million into extreme poverty, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala noted in an opening plenary session that also brought together leaders from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), UNCTAD, World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO). The opportunity to take stock of Aid for Trade’s progress so far and steer its future direction comes at a critical juncture, especially for those least developed countries (LDCs) that were hit hardest by the steepest fall in global trade on record and have benefited least from its rebound. “The post-Covid recovery must not leave anyone or any country behind,” she stressed. Here are 6 takeaways from the event: Invest in pharmaceutical supply chains and ensure equitable access to vaccines With just 10 countries receiving 76% of the Covid-19 vaccines administered globally by the time of the event, ensuring more equitable access is critical. Ramping up vaccine production by investing more in LDCs’ and developing countries’ manufacturing capacity would help, as would boosting trade cooperation to address supply bottlenecks and...

The African Union unveiled the Animal Health Strategy for Africa (AHSA) 2018-2035 to strengthen animal health, animal production, productivity, animal safety, public health and a continent for a healthy environment. AHSA 2018-2035 is “a continental framework for delivering a sustainable animal health system that meets global standards. Healthy animals for more livelihood, a safe trading community and environmental health ”. The strategy, validated in Kigali, Rwanda, in November 201 8, was endorsed by the African Union Technical Committee, which included ministers responsible for animal resources, water, agriculture and the environment. The strategy was endorsed at the Summit of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in February 2020. The Animal Health Strategy for Africa (AHSA) 2018-2035 is “a continental framework for delivering a sustainable animal health system that meets global standards. Healthy animals for more livelihood, safe public and environmental health ”. The aim is to address the challenges faced in the provision of animal health services on the African continent. It is aligned with the Animal Development Strategy for Africa (LiDeSA). In addition, it offers more targeted strategic interventions and approaches to holistically address the health of bees and water bodies as part of the One Health (OH) approach. The aim is also to align animal health services on the continent with the relevant global, continental and regional strategies and frameworks. Therefore, it serves as an overarching strategy to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of animal health measures on the continent. “The strategy builds on the achievements...

A decent job is an essential marker of a young person’s success. It provides financial security for his or her future family and contributes to the economic growth of their country. With more than half of Africa’s population under the age of 25, the need for decent jobs is enormous. “In Africa, youth make up 37% of the working-age population, but 60% of that number is unemployed. The youth demographic is very large compared to the available opportunities in the market,” writes Obiageli Ezekwesili, former World Bank Vice President of the Africa division, in her article Youth unemployment: Challenges & Opportunities in Economic Development. In Kenya for example, a recent study by the UN Development Programme put the country’s unemployment rate at a staggering 39%, the highest in the region, compared to 24% in Tanzania and 18% in Uganda. The demand for decent jobs is only expected to grow as the Africa Institute for Development Policy estimates that the continent will account for 29% of all people aged 15 to 24 by 2050. Some organizations have taken on the youth employment challenge through innovative and broad-based public, private and civil society partnerships that have the potential to be more impactful than they could have aspired to working alone. One example is the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), a partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and private sector representatives. Together they create opportunities for African youth by enhancing leadership skills, bolstering entrepreneurship, and connecting young African leaders with one...

One of the key strategies to revamp Zimbabwe’s economy is to ensure adequate value-added export earnings so as to boost foreign currency generation and retain high-value jobs. The weakening of domestic production in the past years and subsequent drop in exports have undoubtedly affected other sectors of the economy in general, along with the unavailability of locally-produced essential commodities and services, which have stoked persistent trade deficits. There is a need to urgently synergise public and private sector efforts in coming up with appropriate steps towards improving the country’s exports as a sustainable path to attaining real economic stability and growing the economy towards the envisaged upper middle-income status by 2030. While the National Development Strategy (NDS1:2021-2025) sets the tone for jump-starting productive capacity in key sectors such as agriculture, mining and manufacturing, economic experts have called for speedy diversification to the exportation of value-added goods and services as opposed to reliance on exportation of primary commodities. Higher value addition and import substitution are at the heart of the NDS1 re-industrialisation focus. However, in a world that is undergoing a shift from typical industrial to information-based economies, developing robust export market intelligence has become a game changer. Big corporates and governments invest more in this thrust so as to attain reliable export data, which forms the bedrock of business management decisions. Competition in the export market is ruthless and Zimbabwe has to be aggressive in order to make it. Local producers, thus, need to be assisted to build adequate export...

MAJOR upgrades in ports in Tanzania are nearing completion to boost the country's prospects of becoming a major regional transport and trading hub. The Prime Minister said in Parliament in Dodoma on Tuesday that upgrades for Dar es Salaam, Tanga and Mtwara ports were on final stages of completion as the country is focused to make optimal use of its strategic geographical location to enhance regional trade, stimulate economic growth and development and ease transportation. The premier said upgrading work on berth no 6 and 7 at the Port of Dar es Salaam had reached 90 per cent and 75 per cent respectively and dredging of 1.75 kilometre entrance channel for Tanga port was complete to allow large vessels to anchor at the port. Construction of 300 metres berth at Mtwara port, renovation of the cargo yard and warehouse number three at Mtwara Port were also complete, he said. "These projects will enable the nation to make the most of the geographical opportunities we have as well as stimulate economic growth and facilitate transportation," said the Prime Minister while tabling in the House his office's budget proposals for the 2021/2022 financial year. Dar Port Last month the fifth berth of the Dar es Salaam port was inaugurated to mark another major step for speeding up loading and unloading of cargo at the port which is a gateway for 90 per cent of domestic trade, as well as the access route to six land-linked countries including Malawi, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda...

For decades, African women have been trapped in poverty cycles due to several underlying factors including unequal access to education, factors of production, and trade facilities; inequitable labour-saving technologies; underpaid or unpaid labour; harmful cultural practices; and limited legal protection from gender inequality practices entrenched in society. To break the cycle of poverty and inequalities, the African Union continues to advocate for the development and implementation of policies and legal; frameworks that will create a wider array of opportunities for women, and which will lead to their economic empowerment at the national and regional levels and ensuring that the development envisaged for Africa is inclusively sustainable. With the launch of trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in January 2021, the expectations are high as relates to the expanded business prospects for women-led business which will unlock the potential for African women to grow their business from micro to macro enterprises. The Agreement establishing the AfCFTA recognises the need to build and improve the export capacity of both formal and informal service suppliers, with particular attention to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in which women and youth actively participate. Furthermore, the AfCFTA Protocols on Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, Investment, Intellectual Property Rights and Competition Policy provide clear guidelines to ensure emerging enterprises and infant industries are protected thus adding impetus to the Agenda 2063 goals of gender equality, women empowerment and youth development. Through the AfCFTA, informal and micro and small enterprises will be integrated into the continental markets breaking the barriers...

Conversation on market access has always been an interesting one. especially when it involves regional trade. A lot of factors come into play when this is mentioned. A lot of information is not readily available to players to make an informed decision with, whereas for the readily available information, players do not know about this fact. The regional business body has noticed this and has organised a workshop to iron out some of these issues. They have rolled out this project in Burundi. In partnership with the International Trade Centre (ITC), the East African Business Council (EABC) and the Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industries Burundi (CFCIB) and Association of the Traders of Burundi (ACOBU) are carrying out a workshop for trade practitioners in Burundi on the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). This workshop has been organized as part of the European Union-East African Community Market Access Programme (MARKUP), the event will take place in Kayanza Province, Burundi. It comes hot in heels after successfully holding similar national events in Dar es salaam and Kilimanjaro-Tanzania, Nairobi and Mombasa-Kenya, and in Uganda the TFA workshop in Kayanza – aims to equip Burundi and, more broadly, East African local business-support associations and traders, with a comprehensive knowledge of the TFA with a view to identify obstacles to cross-border and advocate for their removal. The TFA workshops will also be held in Kigali-Rwanda, Zanzibar as well. The training has been developed in response to persistent delays and red tape hampering the...

The Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) has partnered two international bodies to equip exporters and companies in the export trade business with the relevant skills to face emerging challenges. The authority collaborated with the Institute of Export and International Trade (IOE) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) to launch a one-year online diploma programme in export trade aimed at building the requisite human resource for the sector. The programme was launched yesterday as part of efforts by the export trade facilitation and promotion body to prepare businesses to take advantage of the opportunities under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). It is also meant to strengthen them in the face of risks emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic. At the launch in Accra, the Chief Executive Officer of GEPA, Dr Afua Asabea Asare, said it was only by empowering Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to be globally competitive that we could talk about building their productive capacity to integrate global value chains and take advantage of trade opportunities externally. “One of the ways we can do this is to encourage participants to sign up for this one-year modular programme. Advances in globalisation and international trade mean career prospects in the industry are both lucrative and abundant,” she said. According to her, the speed at which Covid-19 spread around the world was a reminder of the risks associated with the deepening process of globalisation. “The up-side is that there is a growing demand for persons who understand the management and operational...