According to JLL's 2017 Africa Prime Industrial Report, within Africa's more diversified economies, the prime industrial sector is set to emerge as an attractive asset class over the short to medium term. Anthony Lewis, head of investor services for JLL Sub-Saharan Africa comments, “With forecasts of sustained high economic growth rates in several African countries, there is quite some room for the development of prime logistics and warehousing space in markets that have historically been under-served. This trend, when coupled with the growing logistics requirements of sophisticated occupiers entering these high-growth markets, suggests that sturdy growth drivers should push the establishment of the prime industrial sector. JLL’s demand analysis finds that: In the top 11 African countries, demand stands at c.15-million m2 for all grades of space as at Q2 of 2017. If only 10% of this demand is for prime space, the market should be providing c.1.5-million m2 of prime space to the market. The reality is that far less than this is being provided currently. In addition, over the next decade total demand is forecasted to grow to over 20 million m2. Once again if only 10% of this demand is for prime space, the market should be able to sustainably provide 2-million m2 of prime space to the market by 2027. Given the clear lack of good quality prime industrial space, particularly in the distribution and logistics markets, many new prime developments should be springing up over the next decade. On a regional basis, demand in East Africa...

Euromonitor International’s new data showed international arrivals to Africa grew by 6.5 percent in 2017, with more than 18.6 million people traveling to the continent. Five years ago, that number was 16.4 million. Africa’s key travel markets include South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique, Cameroon, Mauritius and Tanzania. These countries accounted for 70 percent of international trips to the Sub-Saharan African region. One of the key growth drivers at the moment is digital integration, which is helping increase Africa’s footprint on the world travel map. Another is the increasing interaction between hotels, airlines and car rental companies. Platforms such as social media, meta-search engines and the penetration of online travel agents to better communicate with one another provide more robust travel options for visitors. “Many countries are moving away from only promoting Africa as a traditional safari destination, exploring other niche categories such as beach and medical tourism,” said Euromonitor Research Analyst Christy Tawii. “The travel and tourism market continues to introduce products that suit different types of travelers, accounting for strong growth in major cities across Sub-Saharan Africa,” Tawii added. The outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be strong. Euromonitor predicts a growth to 25 million trips by 2022 and says that ongoing growth will be driven by increased interest from overseas visitors due to more competitive rates. While price will be a factor, destination marketing campaigns and an increase in airlift, especially from long-haul markets, will also drive inbound tourism. Making Africa easier to reach is key. Air prices for travel to the continent remain...

The contrast couldn’t be starker. As U.S. President Donald Trump’s government continues to champion isolationism and undermine decades-old international relationships, China is rolling out its Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, a project to build a new “Silk Road” that could change the meaning of globalization itself. Africa is at the margins of both of these developments, but its future will be determined by them. As someone who grew up in Africa, the project stirs a tangle of emotions. While it will directly affect East and North Africa, there is the chance that it could spur desperately needed development all along Africa’s eastern seaboard, where countries are still trying to recover from the proxy conflicts of the Cold War. For me, it comes down to African agency: Are African governments doing enough to achieve gains that can be shared? Or are their citizens being left to pick up the tab? The issue isn’t just about an increasing amount of Chinese power in Africa, but about what local leaders will allow outside forces like China to do with that influence as well. The breakdown of trust between African leaders and the African population is being put to the test ― and even exacerbated ― by ventures like Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. Breaking Down The Belt And Road Initiative The Belt and Road Initiative breaks down into two parts, one over land and another over sea. The former, known as the Silk Road Economic Belt, is made up of interlinked rail lines, communications networks, and oil and gas pipelines running from Chongqing in China...

President Paul Kagame has said that the African tourism sector can accelerate its pace of growth by increasing regional and continental collaboration which would ease movement of citizens. Kagame was speaking Tuesday at the opening of the 41st Annual World Tourism Conference which is currently underway in Kigali. The three-day forum is convened by The Corporate Council on Africa and Africa Travel Association to look into how tourism can be utilised as an engine for economic growth and job creation through innovative business models, new technologies and strategic partnerships. Kagame said collaboration in areas such as open sky policies, appropriate visa regimes across the continent and visa free movement among others can play a huge role in facilitating the growth of the sector in Africa. "We need more cooperation on the continent in order to increase the numbers of visitors as well as facilitate trade and investment within Africa. Implementing existing agreements on open skies and easing visa restrictions are steps in the right direction," the Head of State said. In light of this, Kagame said that Rwanda had begun implementing initiatives such as as the passport free travel to encourage intra-African tourism and the single tourist visa alongside some members of the East African Community. "In Rwanda, we also want to strengthen the collaboration in our region and across the continent. A single tourist visa and passport free travel between Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda is already a reality. So is visa on arrival for all Africans," he added. The...

Today, over 40 percent of people living in sub-Saharan Africa live in absolute poverty. It is this grim reality and the urgent need to sharply reduce the poverty percentage in Africa through trade that dominated the Regional dialogue on World Trade Organization (WTO) accessions for the greater horn of Africa being held in Nairobi. Speaker after speaker bemoaned among others erection of non-barrier tariffs in African borders, lack of product diversification and weak border governance as the main challenges hampering trade growth in Africa. Speaking at the event, Gabriel Negatu, African Development Bank Director General, East Africa Regional Centre challenged African markets to diversify to have a chance at being competitive in a rapidly changing world. “Africa faces major challenges. Our economies aren’t adequately diversified, our manufacturing sector isn’t adequately differentiated,” he said, adding that “we tend to draw from somehow similar resource and end up manufacturing similar products; it becomes very difficult to trade with each other.” Negatu noted that the only way African regional blocs can attain competitiveness is to specialize. To achieve this, he urged the markets to hit a ‘pause’ button first, carry out a thorough audit to establish each nation’s strengths and weaknesses. “For example, Ethiopia has 100 million people. Their power is sold at 3 cents but the man power is not as trained. But Kenya has a very wide natural resource base, access to the port and skilled labour. We need to take a step back, look at the region. Each one should look at what they do best and focus...

THE agenda of an East African federal government, euphemistically sold as an EAC 'political federation' was back on agenda at a meeting of the bloc's council of ministers here. The agenda is up for discussion by the 26th meeting of the Sectoral Council of Ministers responsible for EAC Affairs and Planning (SCMEACP) at the EAC Headquarters here. The head of Corporate communications and public affairs, Mr Owora Othieno, revealed this, saying: "The meeting is considering several reports ... including the directive by the Summit (Heads of Partner States) ... to appoint a team of experts to draft the constitution of EAC Political Confederation." Political Federation is considered the ultimate goal of the EAC regional integration, the fourth step after the Customs Union, Common Market and Monetary Union - provided for under Article 5(2) of the treaty establishing the Community itself. It is also founded on three pillars of common foreign and security policies, good governance and effective implementation of the prior stages of regional integration. So attainment of the political federation is, in itself, a process and not an event. Though the process has been slow, the EAC heads of state resolved at a special summit held in Nairobi (August 27 to 29, 2004) to examine ways and means of deepening and accelerating the process through a fast-track mechanism. At the time, the summit meeting set up a committee to fast-track the Community's political federation, dubbed 'the Wako Committee' to carry out wide ranging consultations and finalise its work on...

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Business Council (CBC) will this week launch a regional tourism and wildlife heritage handbook to promote the bloc as a single tourist and wildlife destination. The handbook is part of the COMESA Sustainable Tourism Development Strategic Framework that has been adapted by member states as a model to develop national tourism action plans to boost competitiveness of the sector. It seeks to raise awareness on sustainable tourism and wildlife conservation among the 19 member countries, according to the CBC Chief Executive Officer Sandra Uwera. The publication titled, ‘The COMESA Tourism and Wildlife Heritage Handbook’ will be launched during the ongoing 47th Africa World Tourism Heritage Summit taking place in Kigali. Uwera said the handbook showcases the different tourism and wildlife products in all the 19 COMESA countries. “This initiative will promote cross-border linkages and partnerships between stakeholders in the tourism industry in COMESA. It will also help to advocate for responsible business practices towards environmental sustainability in tourism sector.” Osborn Kinene, the Rwanda Eco-Tours boss, said the handbook is a timely intervention that will help market Rwanda as a tourism destination, thus increasing tourism revenues. The publication will operate under the theme “Single Market–Countless destinations”. Rwanda projects to earn $444 million (about Rwf370 billion) from tourism this year compared to $404 million recorded last year. Source: New Times

Asmita Parshotam unpacks the continent-wide agreement aimed at accelerating integration and economic development. The Continental Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) is an Africa-wide free trade agreement (FTA) designed to boost intra-African trade and pave the way for the future establishment of a continental customs union. The CFTA builds on existing Tripartite FTA negotiations amongst three African regional economic communities (RECs): the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africsa (Comesa) and the East African Community (EAC), although it would like to incorporate all other African RECs too. The decision to establish the CFTA was adopted as early as 2012 by the heads of state at the 18th ordinary session of the African Union (AU), and negotiations officially begun in June 2015. In bringing together all 54 African countries with a combined GDP of more than US$3,4 trillion, the CFTA is an ambitious project that will connect more than one billion people to a variety of cross-continental goods and services through enhanced trade facilitation and greater movement of people and investments. Why do we need it? The CFTA stems, in part, from the realisation that regional integration is stultified and not equitably pursued amongst all African regional economic communities (RECs), and that intra-African trade is at critically low levels compared to African trade with outside partners. The CFTA will address seven priority areas related to trade: policy, infrastructure, finance, information, market integration, boosting productivity and trade facilitation. For the CFTA to be successful there is great need...

Railway infrastructure development is an important building block to improving trade across the Southern Africa Hinterland Territories, which comprises three landlocked countries; Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia. This is according to Emmanuel Ntshangase, Country Manager of Maersk Line Hinterland Territories - who says access to the Hinterland countries is extremely vital for the growth of the African continent, as each of these countries have a great deal to offer the rest of the world. "For example, Lake Nyasa in Malawi contains more fish species than any other lake in the world, making it a prime location for the export of fish. Furthermore, Zambia is Africa's second largest copper producer and Zimbabwe is the world's sixth largest tobacco producing country." Poor inland connectivity and the related cost to move products inland are among the biggest challenges currently facing landlocked countries with regards to trade. "The World Bank Trading Across Boarders Report, which ranks economies on their ease of doing business, suggests that hinterland Countries currently have room to improve when it comes to moving products inland." Ntshangase attributes the majority of these issues to the high proportion of cargo that currently moves inland via road. "The border crossings and customs processes in these landlocked countries were not designed for the amount of traffic and cargo that currently moves via road, which has occurred due to the use of railways having diminished over the years." Ntshangase explains that increasing the use of rail, which reduces the amount of cargo on the road provides...

The East African Community countries in conjunction with public and private production companies in the countries have considered a ban on import of new shoes and second hand shoes after signing of memoranda awaiting Head of States signatures in bid to conserve, utilize, improve local production, supplies and sales among the member countries. “The challenge we have had previously that has been in the center to undermine local production is fear for competition between public and private leather production companies. It is good that we realised that we can do much better if we work together hence the move to have the memoranda signed,” acknowledged Mr.Robert Njoka, Director REDDAMAC Leather Centre. This emerged during a press briefing by stakeholders in the industry after Kenya Prison Service Officers were awarded for excellence after successfully completing 3 months special training within the sector. The move is aimed at seeing public and private companies in the industry work together to improve and increase production locally to boost the members countries economy. Three months ago, the Kenyan government partnered with one of the leather manufacturing pioneer company locally that saw selected prison officers go through extensive training in Management, Manufacturing and Equipment service and maintenance. The officers from Athi River and Kamiti Maximum Prisons are now tasked with training as many prisoners as possible to boost production in the Kenyan leather industry. Source: Citizen Digital