In Summary Expected to boost trade between Kenya and Ethiopia. Becomes the fifth OSBP for Kenya with other operational ones being Busia, Malaba, Namanga and Taveta. Trade between Kenya and Ethiopia has received a major boost with the operationalisation of the Moyale One-Stop Border Post . Operations commenced yesterday, and  border officials clearing traffic, cargo and persons from both Ethiopia and Kenya will now physically relocate and sit side by side on either side of the border. Under the One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) framework, clearance is done once and individuals or truckers need not get cleared on the other side of the border. The OSBP was commissioned in December 2020 by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, but had not come into operation. The move is expected to boost trade between the two neighbouring nations, as well as promoe regional and economic integration between the East African and Horn of Africa regions. Moyale is the only gazetted border crossing point between Ethiopia and Kenya. A fully functional OSBP is expected to reduce the border crossing time by at least 30 per cent, to enable faster movement of cargo and people. A baseline survey by TradeMark Africa (TMA) in 2017 indicates that it takes on average, 21 hours and 52 minutes (Kenya-Ethiopia) and 12.5 hours (Ethiopia-Kenya) for a cargo truck to cross the border. “ The establishment of the OSBP will have a significant role in improving cross border trade and free movement of people," said Mengistu Tefera, Ethiopia’s head of...

Kenya-Ethiopia Government officials met today and commenced Moyale One Stop Border Post (OSBP) operations, raising hopes to bolster trade and cooperation between the two nations Once operationalized, Moyale One-Stop Border Post will be the first of its kind in Ethiopia and the fifth for Kenya with other operational OSBPs being Busia, Malaba, Namanga and Taveta. The Governments with a grant from Africa Development Bank put up the physical infrastructure component, and with funding from the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through TradeMark Africa, supported  the Integrated Border Management component. The two components are the fundamentals that enable coordinated and efficient OSBP operations Addis Abeba – Moyale, June 08/2021 – Today marks the start of Moyale Border operating as a One Stop Border Post (OSBP), as the Government border regulatory officials from Kenya and Ethiopia came together to commence operations. This means that, the border regulatory officials clearing traffic, cargo and persons from both Ethiopia and Kenya will now physically relocate  and sit side by side on either side of the border, where they will undertake exit and entry formalities in a joint and/or sequenced manner. The officials conducted site visits and inspection of border facilities as part of the OSBP operations commencement process. The move follows the official launch of Moyale OSBP in December 2020, by H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and H.E. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia. This move is a step closer to achieving the goal of exponentially boosting trade between the two neighbouring...

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....

Kenya has matured insofar as investing abroad with local companies emerging a force to reckon with on matters concerning regional investment. On Tuesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta witnessed the issuance of an operation licence to the Safaricom-led consortium to set up a telco in Ethiopia. Over 10 multinational telecommunication companies had initially expressed interest in the bid but it narrowed down to a race between Safaricom and MTN with the Safaricom consortium emerging the winner. Speaking in Ethiopia during the event, President Kenyatta said the entry of Safaricom will transform by positively impacting most sectors like it had done in Kenya. “Today’s ceremony is the first step in an exciting and rewarding opportunity for Ethiopia. Kenya has seen the great gains and opportunities unleashed by Safaricom across the entirety of our socio-economic landscape,” he said. “Ethiopia now stands at the cusp of making even greater strides in Safaricom’s areas of strength which include digital presence, mobile money, telephony, data and fibre connectivity and business solutions,” he added. Safaricom-led Global Partnership for Ethiopia consortium which won the Sh91.8 billion bid is expected to spend Sh864 billion in Ethiopia in the next 10 years. The investment is expected to create jobs for millions of Ethiopian citizens as well as Kenyans. Additionally, it will enhance information technology skills on both sides of the border. Ethiopia has the second largest population in Africa after Nigeria at 112 million, making it a lucrative market highly sought after by investors. Last year, Equity Group Holdings, another homegrown...

Kenya-Ethiopia Government officials met today and commenced Moyale One Stop Border Post (OSBP) operations, raising hopes to bolster trade and cooperation between the two nations Once operationalized, Moyale One-Stop Border Post will be the first of its kind in Ethiopia and the fifth for Kenya with other operational OSBPs being Busia, Malaba, Namanga and Taveta. The Governments with a grant from Africa Development Bank put up the physical infrastructure component, and with funding from the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through TradeMark Africa, supported the Integrated Border Management component. The two components are the fundamentals that enable coordinated and efficient OSBP operations 8th June 2021, Moyale: Today marks the start of Moyale Border operating as a One Stop Border Post (OSBP), as the Government border regulatory officials from Kenya and Ethiopia came together to commence operations. This means that, the border regulatory officials clearing traffic, cargo and persons from both Ethiopia and Kenya will now physically relocate and sit side by side on either side of the border, where they will undertake exit and entry formalities in a joint and/or sequenced manner. The officials conducted site visits and inspection of border facilities as part of the OSBP operations commencement process. The move follows the official launch of Moyale OSBP in December 2020, by H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and H.E. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia. This move is a step closer to achieving the goal of exponentially boosting trade between the two neighbouring nations, as...

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...