Country Financing Roadmap aims to increase private investments Nation first in Africa to launch Country Financing Roadmap To benefit $431.6bn financing gap to meet SDGs Once again, Nigeria was left in the lurch by the World Economic Forum (WEF) to pick its West African neighbour Ghana, as the launch area of the first Country Financing Roadmap (CFR) for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa. Ghana is the first country in which the CFR was released. It is piloting the initiative which will serve as a blueprint for other countries. The effort is funded and supported by the European Commission (EC) and the Danish International Development Agency (DIDA). The Country Financing Roadmap is a new country-led approach developed with the WEF to improve long-term competitiveness and bring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to life. The CFR presents a set of country-led plans to encourage greater financing at scale, especially private-sector participation, to meet the SDGs by 2030. The CFR has focused on financing sustainable infrastructure, a key indicator and driver of economic growth and development, which often hampers the ability of a country to attract sizeable investment if left behind, according to the World Bank. The CFR also focuses on the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector as it represents about 85 per cent of business within the private sector and contributes to 70 per cent of GDP, according to the report. According to WEF, the Country Financing Roadmap aims to increase private investments to help close the $431.6...

Africa is regarded as the new business frontier of global trade and investment. This despite numerous challenges such as lack of proper infrastructure and access to capital. In it’s most recent report for 2020, Deloitte and Touche outlines countries with most ideal environment for investment. Herein is a snapshot of most appealing countries: Mauritius The modest Indian Ocean island, which is best known for its exquisite white beaches and lush lifestyle, is fast becoming one of the hottest investment destinations and foremost business hubs on the African continent. Being likened to one of the leading real estate and business hubs in Asia is no small achievement. The fact that Mauritius is on a mission to make itself more attractive as an investment environment is clear from its progressive and highly favourable tax regime. Mauritian tax planning advantages include no capital gains tax; no inheritance, wealth or gift tax; a standard 15per cent individual tax rate; and no exchange control. Corporate tax is set at a rate of 15per cent or lower, while the country also boasts a strong tax treaty network. Cote D’ivoire Côte d’Ivoire has enjoyed a vibrant, robust, and stable economic growth since 2012, but experienced a slowdown in 2020 owing to the Covid-19 crisis. Prior to the global shock triggered by the pandemic, Côte D’ivoire had one of the most robust economies in Africa and in the world and had grown at an annual average rate of 8 per cent since 2012. The country remains Francophone West...

This year has welcomed AfCFTA, the pan-African free trade agreement. As of 1st January 2021, AfCFTA has brought in new business standards for 41 countries and 1.2 billion people to increase economic growth across the continent. Alongside that has been an acceleration of digital transformation in the region, heralding a new era of technological advancement. AfCFTA introduces updated trading rules that lower import-export taxes, make commerce more affordable, and increase transaction volume. It means banks in the continent will be primed for pan-African service, a priority that will adjust the importance of ease of payment. Since we began operating in South Africa in 2006, there’s been steady progress toward digital adoption and seen remarkable changes over the past decade. We’ve also been instrumental in implementing change. For example, we were behind the first contactless payment ever made in Ghana. Yet, the explosive growth that has unfolded at lightning speed over the past two years has not been comparable to anything that has come before. There are examples everywhere you look. TymeBank South Africa acquired 3.2 million bank customers in 17 months of operation, making it the world’s fastest-growing independent digital bank. Over 50% of its customer base are active each month, and its deposits have been rising at around 10% per month, with the fastest growth among women clients representing 50% of their customer base. TymeBank has close partnerships with retailers for cash in and out and tends to go where their customers shop for essential items. This has been...

Invest Africa (www.InvestAfrica.com), a Pan-African business and investment platform, aims to build constructive dialogue between policy makers and business leaders from the UK and Africa during the Forum. James Duddridge MP, Minister for Africa, Emma Wade-Smith OBE, H.M. Trade Commissioner for Africa, and His Excellency Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Ghana will feature in the programme. The Forum will feature Dr Mo Ibrahim in conversation with CNBC Africa, discussing why supporting good governance is essential to driving growth and improving livelihoods across the continent. Speaking earlier this month, the Sudanese-British businessman called attention to the impact of Covid-19 on governance in Africa, highlighting job creation, improved education and healthcare and investment in economic development as essential conditions to building healthy democracies. The Forum brings together speakers from Invest Africa’s membership, including Absa international; DHL; Casa Orascom; TTRO; Mischon de Reya; Tysers; Pernod Ricard and Afreximbank. An explosion of trade with Africa The Forum comes at an opportune time as trading under the AfCFTA commenced on the 1 January 2021, accelerating intra-African trade, and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market. This, combined with the UK’s departure from the European Union, has seen a rise in investment interest in Africa. The UK trade envoy to Egypt was recently quoted in the UK press, saying that Egypt ‘can be the “gateway” to an explosion of trade with Africa.’ Earlier this year, Helen Grant, Conservative MP and trade envoy to Nigeria claimed a trade deal with the country could be significant...

Abuja, June 8, 2021 The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has pledged support for African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) in harmonising standards for automotive sector on the continent. This is against the backdrop of plans by ARSO to inaugurate the completed harmonised African Automotive Standards by June in Nigeria, Rwanda, Ghana, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Afreximbank in a statement on Tuesday in Cairo, Egypt said that the harmonised standards would facilitate an accelerated development of the sector across the continent. It added that the harmonised standards were to be adopted by individual African countries, facilitating cross-border trade, under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). The bank said that there were 1,432 international automotive standards worldwide, largely developed by the International Organisation for Standardisation and the American Society for Testing and Materials. It said that to initiate the process of developing African Automotive standards, ARSO prioritised “Whole Vehicle Standards” encompassing motor vehicle components, accessories and replacement parts. “It is anticipated that some 250 standards will need to be harmonised based on the basic components, accessories and replacement parts which are necessary to keep a vehicle safe and operational. “ARSO had initially targeted 18 basic standards based on the demands of the industry to facilitate development of the automotive sector on the continent. “Since inception of the project in 2019, ARSO has, with the support of Afreximbank, been successful in harmonising 42 international standards, well above the targeted 18.” The bank said that an initial grant provided by it was critical...

As policymakers in the least developed countries address COVID-19’s social and economic consequences, they must ensure recovery efforts are gender-responsive. Although the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases per capita has been lower in the least developed countries (LDCs) than expected, the socio-economic fallout for their populations has been dire, pushing an estimated 32 million more people into extreme poverty in 2020. Women in these countries have borne the brunt of the crisis, as they work mainly in the hardest-hit sectors, such as tourism, horticulture and textiles. A new study by UNCTAD and the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) warns that the gender gap in income and overall well-being in LDCs will continue to worsen unless COVID-19 recovery efforts adopt a gender perspective. “As policymakers urgently try to restart their economies, they should ensure that both women and men receive the necessary means and support to recover from this crisis,” UNCTAD Acting Secretary-General Isabelle Durant said as she presented the study on 8 March. “For an inclusive and better recovery, policies must be gender-sensitive.” Gender-responsive trade policies needed The study, Trade and Gender Linkages: An analysis of Least Developed Countries, provides recommendations to help LDC governments adopt trade-related polices that are more gender responsive. EIF head Ratnakar Adhikari said: “We had a long way to go to fix the world’s gender gap, and the pandemic has made the journey even more arduous, especially in the world’s poorest countries, where the challenges facing women are even more dire.” “But if we’re committed to...

In Summary It is expected that up to 90 per cent of goods and services traded within the continent will benefit from preferential trade terms. This includes elimination of tariff barriers. The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), billed as a catalyst for intra-African trade, officially commenced operations on January 1, 2021, six months later than initially anticipated. Through the AfCFTA, tariff and non-tariff barriers that have historically posed as an impediment to intra-African trade will be conclusively dealt with. Specifically, it is expected that up to 90 per cent of goods and services traded within the continent will benefit from preferential trade terms, inclusive of the elimination of tariff barriers. To date, all African states, save for Eritrea, have signed up to the AfCFTA, while all but twenty African states have ratified the AfCFTA. Within the East African region, only Tanzania, Burundi and South Sudan are yet to ratify the agreement. In a bid to ensure that the East African Community (EAC) is not left behind in taking advantage of the agreement, Tanzania, Burundi and South Sudan have been urged to complete the ratification process of the AfCFTA before 01 June 2021. It is anticipated that the successful implementation of the AfCFTA will have tangible benefits on the African continent, inclusive of accelerated industrial development, expanded economic diversification and enhanced job creation. Indeed, where AfCFTA is successfully implemented, intra-African trade stands to increase by 33 per cent in the medium term, from the current 16 per cent. This will...

Thrust five years into the future by Covid-19, as management firm McKinsey puts it, most of what we expected to see in 2030 will soon be upon us. A disruption in the workplace in 2020 changed the fortunes of millions, either throwing them out of their jobs or elevating their profiles. Most of those who had an upturn in fortunes were in technology and automation. The World Economic Forum (WEF) late last year released a list of jobs that, it said, will be marketable in the future - which we might already be in - and those that will be obsolete because of automation. It is not surprising from the data that technology will be taking over a significant number of jobs. It was certain the world was always inching closer to this by the day. The world is welcoming artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics on an unprecedented scale and the Internet of Things (IoT) is now common talk. The need to cut overheads and reduce office population amid the pandemic prompted industry leaders to find ways of using automated systems to deliver, with many people losing their jobs. “The past two years have seen a clear acceleration in the adoption of new technologies among the companies surveyed,” said WEF. “Cloud computing, big data and e-commerce remain high priorities, following a trend established in previous years.” Job loss Sectors such as the arts, entertainment and recreation, hospitality, retail, mining, real estate, rental and leasing saw many employees lose their jobs....

In Summary Freight charges from Mombasa to Kampala increased from $2,200 (Sh238,150) to $2,500 (Sh 270,625 ) per container. This is pegged mainly on the delays along the corridor and especially at the ports of loading and the exit borders. Transport cost along the Northern Corridor has jumped 48 per cent in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, mainly on measures to contain the virus by regional states. A report by the Shippers Council of Eastern Africa (SCEA) indicates road freight rates increased in the key trading route which runs from the Port of Mombasa, across the country, into Uganda, Rwanda, DR Congo, Burindi and South Sudan. Freight charges from Mombasa to Kampala increased from $2,200 (Sh238,150) in the pre-pandemic period to $2,500 (Sh 270,625 ) per container (both 20 and 40 foot), which extended into the first half of this year. The cost of moving containerised goods to Kigali from Mombasa also increased from $3,400 (Sh 368,050) to $3800 (Sh 411,350), pegged mainly on the delays along the corridor and especially at the ports of loading and the exit borders. Uganda is the biggest destination for transit cargo along the corridor, accounting for about 83.2 per cent of total transit volumes. That of transporting a container from Mombasa to South Sudan increased to $4,500 (Sh487,125 ) from $3,600 (Sh 389,700) while moving a container to DRC went up to $6,000( Sh649,500 ) between March and June this year, from $5,000 (Sh 541,250). In terms of border crossing times, it...

In May 2021, the bridge across the Zambezi River linking Botswana and Zambia was opened by the presidents of the two countries. The construction of the bridge, which replaces the longstanding, slow ferry service across the river, means trucks on regional routes can now cross the river in a few hours, or less, rather than the previous three days to a week. It also means they can avoid using the biggest crossing between the ports and factories of South Africa and the rest of Southern Africa – Beit Bridge, which is also one of the most congested borders in Africa. A one-stop border post at the bridge will allow easier thoroughfare. This project embodies the benefits that good infrastructure and joined-up bureaucracy offer regional trade, both of them generally in short supply. More than 250 trucks a day should be able to cross the Zambezi instead of the handful that were able to cross before, bringing down costs, increasing the security of cargo and providing an alternative route for trade to the sea for inland markets. It is not without potential pitfalls. One is the congestion that is likely to develop at Martin’s Drift border post, currently an alternative to the main border post at Gaborone into Botswana, as demand increases. And sections of the roads along this main trade route, an integral part of the North South Corridor, are in urgent need of repair, for example several hundred kilometres of a two-lane highway through Botswana to Kazungula, with eroded...