Kenya on Wednesday called on African countries to embrace mutual recognition agreements for product standards to help spur intra-Africa trade. Betty Maina, principal secretary in the ministry of trade, industry and cooperatives, told an international standards forum in Nairobi that lack of harmonized standards constitute huge non tariff barriers to cross border trade. “Mutually accepted standards for products and services across Africa will reduce the need for duplication of testing when importing and exporting and thus greatly facilitate intra-Africa trade,” Maina said during the 34th International Organization of Standardization (ISO) Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO) plenary meeting. She told a two-day event that brought together over 130 delegates representing the ISO member states that mutually accepted standards will help make conformity assessment activities as uniform as possible across industries and the world. Maina noted that conformity assessment plays a vital role in the Kenyan economy because it involves a set of processes that show the product, service or system meets the requirements of a standard. “It provides a tool for managing compliance and providing an objective and defensible means to implement standards thus enforcing national health, safety and environmental legislation,” she added. The Kenyan official noted that on the basis of standards, the East African Community (EAC) has an agreement of mutual recognition of certification marks. Eddy Njoroge, president-elect of ISO, said that the world is getting widely and deeply interconnected making it intimately interdependent, at an alarmingly rapid rate. “As a consequence, standards and conformity assessment have become not...

The Economic Insight: Africa report provides a snapshot of East Africa, Central and West Africa, Franc Zone, Northern Africa and Southern Africa's economic performance. According to the report; East Africa is expected to remain the strongest growing region with a 6.3% economic expansion this year. Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda are all expected to record real GDP growth above 6% this year, largely due to infrastructure investment and the expansion of financial and telecoms services. African economic growth has in general been driven by public infrastructure investment and the expansion of services to a largely underserviced population. However, financial technology (FinTech) is increasingly receiving attention from both private and public sector, facilitating innovation in other sectors of the economy and allowing African nations to leapfrog more traditional infrastructure. "African economic growth is currently driven mostly by traditional sectors, However, FinTech has the opportunity to leapfrog other key drivers and to foster inclusive development. But this can only happen if it is managed properly," says Michael Armstrong, Regional Director, ICAEW Middle East, Africa and South Asia. How the FinTech industry shaping Africa's future Almost one-third of total funding on the continent was raised by fintech start-ups in 2017. This can be supported by the fact that 60% of all mobile money accounts globally can be found in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), according to an Ecobank study. The FinTech sector is set to show strong growth over the medium term, from roughly $200m in 2018 to $3bn by 2020. The majority of these investments have...

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has urged African countries and pan-African institutions to prepare modalities as the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) edges closer to entry into force. Adeyinka Adeyemi, ECA senior adviser with the African Trade Policy Center (ATPC), called on African countries and partners to undertake trade and investment forums toward the success of the continental free trade pact, which is weeks away to entry into force. On Wednesday, the African Union (AU) set a one-month timeframe to activate the AfCFTA on May 30 as Sierra Leone and the Saharawi Republic deposited their instruments of ratification to the AU Commission earlier in the week. “The two deposits meet the minimum threshold of ratifications required under Article 23 of the AfCFTA Agreement for it to enter into force 30 days after the deposit of the 22nd deposit, which is made by the Saharawi Republic,” the AU said in statement on Wednesday. According to Adeyemi, continental and regional forums and meetings are vital instruments to deepen economic integration of African countries, which is a “vital imperative toward the success of the AfCFTA.”  “There is no doubt that the AfCFTA will not only reduce or eliminate barriers to trade and harmonize standards on the continent,” Adeyemi said. “It will also provide an overarching framework within which regions can address their peculiar challenges in a specific manner. “The free trade pact “should also be used as a catalyst for inclusive and sustainable socioeconomic development in Africa,” he said....

Kenya on Wednesday called on East African financial market regulators to invest in robust information technology (IT) systems to reduce losses occasioned by failure of the bourses trading systems. Speaking during the launch of the Capital Markets Soundness Report in Nairobi, Luke Ombara, director of regulatory policy and strategy at Kenya's Capital Markets Authority (CMA), said the automated trading systems (ATS) across the region had experienced a rise of system hitches which impact trading activity at the bourses. "On April 1, the market trading infrastructure experienced a delay in opening due to unavailability of the central depository system, with trading commencing at 2.55 p.m. with 15 minutes pre-open and two hours and ten minutes of continuous trading to close 5:00 p.m., resulting in a turnover value of 369.7 million shillings (3.69 million U.S. dollars) for the day, a decrease of 44.4 percent from the previous trading day," he said. Ombara said similar challenges occurred in October 2018, leading to an extended delay in trading hours by more than four hours, an impact which led to a drop in equity turnover for the day. Ombara said improved systems will increase opportunities for improved capital markets' infrastructure in future within the region as well as on the global landscape. "Adopting a strong IT system within the market infrastructure will see safer, cheaper, more robust and efficient transactions within the markets which can in turn significantly boost trading liquidity," he added. Wycliffe Shamiah, CMA's director of market operations, hailed concerted efforts by the...

As far as trading blocs go, the European Union (EU) has been a global case study of how to turn a free market into a common market.    Faced with notable challenges in the integration process such as the consecutive crises in the Exchange Rate Mechanism in the early 90’s, the EU defied all odds and continued to expand in depth and geography in a historic feat. However, two years ago, this ideal trading bloc was hard hit by the Brexit vote, which triggered a global conversation on regional trading, agreements and integration towards creating shared prosperity for the countries involved.   In our own context, a snapshot of East African Community (EAC) intra-trade in the past few years will reveal tension-filled trade-relations, as well as an overall cloud of uncertainty on the future of the bloc.   Yet with our geographical advantages, natural resources and global reputation, EAC holds huge potential to set the pace for the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and lead the continent into a new age trading with the world on a mutually beneficial platform. Whilst there isn’t much comparison to be made with the EU, one undisputable thing is that their integration process was marred by political and social differences especially with bringing on board Eastern European countries. Through the chaos, nonetheless, members designed new institutions with a view to open up markets and ideological alignments. Our challenges in integration are also hampered by political and social differences, which manifest in seemingly endless Non-Tariff Barriers...

Non-tariff barriers (NTBs) remain a key challenge to east African integration since the establishment of Custom Union (CU) Protocol in 2005. It is clear that trade liberalisation is the central objective of East Africa Community (EAC) and it cannot be achieved with the continuous persistence of old and emergence of new NTBs. NTBs are restrictions that result from prohibitions, conditions or specific market requirements that make importation or exportation of products difficult and/or costly. The EAC Elimination of NTB Act, 2017, also defines NTB as laws, regulations, administrative and technical requirements other than tariffs imposed by a partner state, whose effect is to impede trade. The objectives of EAC Elimination of NTB Act, 2017, are to provide a legal framework for removal of NTBs, provide a process for identification and monitoring the removal of NTBs. The removal of all restrictions to trade will create a truly single market in the region with a market of close to 184 million people. There are several initiatives in place to address NTBs in the EAC. First, the main instrument was the EAC Time-Bound Programme for Elimination of Identified NTBs (EACS, 2009). The strategy of EACS, 2009, was to come up with a list of NTBs reported by partner states and update them during quarterly NTB review meetings. During the meeting new NTBs are reported and the resolved ones are moved to the end of the list. However, the report does not explain how the NTBs have been resolved or how to ensure that...

EAST African region will continue to lead other regions in Africa in terms of economic growth thanks to infrastructure investment and the expansion of financial and telecoms services, an Institute of Chartered in England and Wales (ICAEW)’s latest report says. The report which paints a rosy picture of growth in the region says East Africa is expected to remain the strongest growing region with a 6.3 per cent economic expansion this year. Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda are all expected to record real GDP growth above 6 per cent this year, largely due to infrastructure investment and the expansion of financial and telecoms services. African economic growth has in general been driven by public infrastructure investment and the expansion of services to a largely underserviced population. However, financial technology (FinTech) is increasingly receiving attention from both private and public sector, facilitating innovation in other sectors of the economy and allowing African nations to leapfrog more traditional infrastructure. Michael Armstrong, Regional Director, ICAEW Middle East, Africa and South Asia said “African economic growth is currently driven mostly by traditional sectors, However, FinTech has the opportunity to leapfrog other key drivers and to foster inclusive development. But this can only happen if it is managed properly.” Almost one-third of total funding on the continent was raised by fintech start-ups in 2017. This can be supported by the fact that 60 per cent of all mobile money accounts globally can be found in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), according to an Ecobank study. The FinTech...

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has urged African countries and pan-African institutions to prepare modalities as the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) edges closer to entry into force. Adeyinka Adeyemi, ECA senior adviser with the African Trade Policy Center (ATPC), called on African countries and partners to undertake trade and investment forums toward the success of the continental free trade pact, which is weeks away to entry into force. On Wednesday, the African Union (AU) set a one-month timeframe to activate the AfCFTA on May 30 as Sierra Leone and the Saharawi Republic deposited their instruments of ratification to the AU Commission earlier in the week. “The two deposits meet the minimum threshold of ratifications required under Article 23 of the AfCFTA Agreement for it to enter into force 30 days after the deposit of the 22nd deposit, which is made by the Saharawi Republic,” the AU said in statement on Wednesday. According to Adeyemi, continental and regional forums and meetings are vital instruments to deepen economic integration of African countries, which is a “vital imperative toward the success of the AfCFTA.” “There is no doubt that the AfCFTA will not only reduce or eliminate barriers to trade and harmonize standards on the continent,” Adeyemi said. “It will also provide an overarching framework within which regions can address their peculiar challenges in a specific manner. “The free trade pact “should also be used as a catalyst for inclusive and sustainable socioeconomic development in Africa,” he said....

REPRESENTATIVES from the six East African Community (EAC) partner states meet in Mombasa tomorrow for the ninth East African Petroleum conference and exhibitions. Dubbed the EACPCE 19, the three-day conference is expected to offer a wide range of technical presentations reflecting on developments in the oil and gas industry in East Africa and globally. A statement released by the corporate communications and public affairs department of the EAC Secretariat here yesterday said the conference will also offer a platform for discussions on the legal and policy framework as well as overall business environment prevailing in the region. “It gives stakeholders in the oil and gas sector an opportunity to interact with EAC senior government officials and decision makers,” said the statement. Some of the topics that will come up for discussion during the meeting include licensing regimes, East African Rift Basins, East African Coastal Basins, Offshore Exploration Opportunities Exploration in inland Basins and Petroleum Data Management. It will also delve on meeting the regional petroleum needs, crude oil and refined petroleum products pipelines, exploring on exportation and refining options for crude oil. Comprising of six partner states—Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan—with a combined population of over 168 million, EAC’s broad goal is economic, social and political integration to create wealth in the region and enhance competitiveness through increased production trade and investment. The community seeks to improve the quality of life for the people in the region through its mission of widening and deepening integration and the...

The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is set to float on 30th May. On the off chance that each African nation joins, it’s required to be one of the world’s biggest single markets, accounting for $4 trillion in spending and investment across the 54 nations. The AfCFTA will give business owners over the continent access to an a lot bigger market. It’s along these lines significant that youthful African business people see how the AfCFTA could profit them and their endeavors. As mindfulness is raised, business owners should start making new exchange guides for their organizations, educated by the understanding. It’s envisioned that the free trade area will lead to increased competition, innovation and prosperity for Africa’s people in the long term. But for the AfCFTA’s gains to be realized, entrepreneurs and policy-makers must be aligned. They must engage with each other to provide structure and clarity around how goods and services will move, and around the benefits that the agreement will bring to business. These discussions between entrepreneurs and the trade ministries of their country will also enable the review and updating of national trade policies, discussions which will benefit both the government and business communities. Source: How Africa