The Acting Chief Trade Negotiator/Director General, Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations, Mr. Victor Liman, has said that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is now expected to commence from January 1, 2021.Speaking on Nigeria’s Channels Television programme on Thursday, Liman  said that the AfCFTA, which was earlier scheduled to kick-off on July 1, 2020, was postponed due to the ravaging impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Africa. The Continental trade agreement entered its operational phase on July 7, 2019, following the ratification by 54 of all the 55 African countries. Liman disclosed that the Extraordinary Africa Union Summits scheduled to hold in South Africa on May 30, 2020 has been postponed to December 5, 2020. According to Liman, the summit is aimed at encouraging trade negotiators to complete their bargaining on tariff reductions, rules of origin and other necessary regulations and that the new date will also give sufficient time for trade ministers and their experts to finalise negotiations and prepare adequately for the Summits. The agreement for the largest regional market in the world was organised by the African Union and signed on by 44 of its 55 member states in Kigali, Rwanda on March 21, 2018. Source: Journal du Cameroun

Freedom of movement and economic integration are the cornerstone of the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063 which includes, among other things, the progressive aim of abolishing visa requirements for all African citizens. However multiple obstacles to free movement on the continent persist. A protectionist approach to managing migration still prevails as states avoid ceding their sovereignty to regional and supra-national organisations in migration affairs in the name of state security and national interest. So far, with the exception of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), little tangible progress has been made to implement a free movement regime. In this context, the global COVID-19 pandemic and states’ responses to it, raise questions about open borders and free movement of people. By 29 April, more than 34 000 people in Africa were infected with the coronavirus and just over 1 500 had died. If governments struggle to contain the spread, strict immigration laws and the militarisation of border control may be invoked, as has happened in South Africa. These types of measures would be antithetical to the continent’s integration agenda. More than half of African countries have closed their borders to human traffic in response to COVID-19 As the pandemic flared up across Europe, borders were progressively shut down until the Schengen agreement was suspended. At the same time, populists have challenged the European Union (EU) borderless system in an attempt to crack down on immigration. French right-wing politician Aurélia Beigneux went further: ‘The free circulation of goods and people,...

May 5, 2020//-Ahead of the AU ministerial meeting on the 5-6th of May that will be discussing the trade response to Covid-19 and the state of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), a number of business leaders have signed a joint letter calling for ministers and Heads of State to ensure they stick to the deadline of July 1 for the Agreement to come into force. The letter has been written in response to rumours in international media that the AfCFTA date of July 1 will be postponed until next year. The signatories say that there is no legitimate reason to postpone the AfCFTA even if they understand that a staggered approach can be used given current circumstances. One of the signatories of the letter is Paulo Gomes, former Executive Director of the World Bank and Chair of Executive committee of AfroChampions. The AfroChampions network has been mandated by the African Union to coordinate private sector discussions around the AfCFTA. He said that ministers meeting next week had a duty to respect the current deadline. “We understand that certain parts of the AfCFTA are sensitive. The rules of origins and tariffs need time but we can start with trading of essential goods. That will send a strong message to the world that we are serious about the AfCFTA and to African businesses. The private sector is the biggest beneficiary of the AfCFTA and with supply chains being disrupted globally, it is even more urgent that we have a functioning...

Ethiopian Airlines has introduced a mobile app and chatbot-assisted shipment tracking service to enhance cargo customers’ experience. The mobile app, which is now available for both Android and iOS platforms, will bring convenience to Ethiopian cargo and logistics services customers through a range of self-service features including checking flight schedule, cargo tracking and charter requests at the swipe of a finger, while the Ethiopian chatbot enables customers to access up-to-date information and track their shipment on Messenger and Telegram. “As a customer-centric airline, we always seek ways to better serve our customers and bring more digital options to their fingertips,” says Miretab Teklaye, Director, Group Integrated Marketing Communications at Ethiopian. “The newly unveiled cargo mobile app and chatbot-assisted cargo tracking service will bring convenience for our customers allowing them to access real-time updates about their shipments and to process their charter requests. As the number of mobile apps and messaging platforms users grows globally, we will leverage our in-house digital capabilities to further elevate customers’ experience by taking our digital service to the platforms of their choice.” Users can download Ethiopian cargo mobile app from Play Store and App Store. Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian), which made its inaugural flight over 70 years ago, has become one of the continent’s leading carriers in terms of efficiency and operational success, serving 127 international passenger and cargo destinations across five continents. The carrier is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan aimed to see it become the leading aviation group in Africa with seven strategic business units: Ethiopian...

Social networks have become an integral part of our day to day lives and it is really difficult to imagine our lives without it. The Crypto industry itself is no stranger to the disruptive capabilities of social media as it has thrived on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Instagram etc. However, the centralised nature of these platforms has seen growing concerns regarding the safety of one’s personal data and privacy.  With recent scandals involving Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, people have started to question the privacy policies of these internet giants impose on their users and how they utilize user data. Privacy, which is an innate human right, is no more in the control of the people. Creators have lost control over their content, and unfair censorships have hampered growth and development of emerging industries like crypto and blockchain. This has fuelled the move towards uncensored social networks, with the crypto community leading the revolution. IOTA powered social network In order to overcome the various discrepancies, the SOCIETY2 team has proposed a social network powered by IOTA’s distributed ledger technology, which returns control of data, privacy and identity to the users of the platform. Developed on the IOTA network, SOCIETY2 enables the construction of decentralized social networks, taking the use of DLT beyond finance. The primary goal here is to allow social network users to regain authority of their data and personal information that they share on the internet. The user data will be stored securely on IOTA’s Tangle network and the information will be completely portable....

A blockbuster African trade deal is unlikely to be implemented before early next year, an official said on Friday, after the disruption caused by the new coronavirus made the current July 1 deadline unworkable.Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area, told Reuters that while only the heads of state of the 55-member AfCFTA could sanction changes to the deadlines, the cancelled summit between leaders planned for May in South Africa left few options. “It is only after the summit that you can say we have a new trading date. The next opportunity of a summit is on 2 January 2021,” Mene said.The continental free-trade zone would, if successful, become the largest since the creation of the World Trade Organization in 1994, stitching 1.3 billion people together in a $3.4 trillion economic bloc. Mene’s role is effectively chief adviser to government leaders, who hold the exclusive right to approve all parts of the deal and its implementation. He has advised them to defer the July 1 implementation deadline due to the extraordinary circumstances. It would have required nations to liberalize at least 97 per cent of their tariff lines and 90 per cent of imports. Mene is instead advising them to allow free movement of goods, despite borders being closed to human traffic as part of virus containment efforts, and to allow zero duties on 40 specific goods that would help combat the virus, such as soap, disinfectant and personal protective gear. “The current circumstances simply are not...

African Business leaders have appealed to governments to take the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) deal negotiations on July 1 seriously to enable the continent is to economically recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The call comes just two days before the planned African Union (AU) ministerial meeting to be held on the May 5-6th that will be discussing the trade response to Covid-19 and the state of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). Ahead of the meeting, business leaders have petitioned heads of state to uphold the AfCTA deal discussion deadline in which member states are supposed to make a landmark decision on the trade agreements to kick start business between each other. The commencement of trading within the AfCFTA is slated for 1st July 2020. Driven by President Paul Kagame, the AcFTA deal that was signed in Kigali on March 21st 2018 by several countries (over 50) and July 1 was set for the agreement to come into force. To push the deal, business leaders, through the AfroChampions network, have signed a petition a joint letter in response to rumours in international media that the AfCFTA date of July 1 will be postponed until next year. The AfroChampions network was mandated by the African Union to coordinate private sector discussions around the AfCFTA. One of the signatories of the letter, Paulo Gomes, the former Executive Director of the World Bank and Chair of Executive committee of AfroChampions said that ministers meeting next week had a duty to...

Africa’s extreme vulnerability to the disruption of international supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need to reduce the continent’s dependence on non-African trading partners and unlock Africa’s business potential. While African countries are right to focus their energy on managing the immediate health crisis, they must not lose sight of finalizing the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which can be a tool to help them do just that. Africa’s economy is highly dependent on international markets—for both its imports and exports. Given that an estimated 53 percent of African imports originate in countries that have been highly impacted by COVID-19, the pandemic is interrupting the region’s access to critical products. With two-thirds of African countries being net importers of food and medicine, global trade restrictions and cross-border blockages risk creating shortages and increasing the cost of items essential to mitigate the immediate effects of the pandemic. At the same time, global supply chain disruptions are expected to result in export earnings losses of $101 billion, with an estimated $65 billion for oil-producing countries and massive hits in other export sectors, such as the garment and cut-flower industries. Similarly, the pandemic has seriously disrupted key services industries on the continent, including tourism, transport, and logistics services. The operational launch of the AfCFTA—originally scheduled for July 2020—is now postponed. The next round of negotiations, scheduled for May 30, will likely not happen before November or December. Wamkele Mene, the newly elected secretary-general of the AfCFTA Secretariat, has noted that...

In 2019, Africa remained the leading destination of Kenya’s exports accounting for 37.6 per cent of the total exports at Sh224.2 billion, with exports to East African Community partner states, accounting for 62.6 per cent of the total exports to Africa. This is according to the recent economic survey 2020 by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). The region is followed by Europe which is the country’s second-leading export destination with 25.4 per cent of the total exports at Sh151.3 billion. The data carves a sculpture of the sprouting fruits of the efforts put in place by the East African Community (EAC) treaty which aims to accelerate economic integration and political development of the 6 partner states. The community has for decades now been working on a system that will facilitate the achievement of the monetary union (having a single currency in the community) and ultimately a political federation of East African countries. All these steps together with the customs union and common market which have already been established will see that economies of trade are achieved, command respect and a stronger voice in the world community and improve social interactions between states. “Exports to African countries was Sh224.2 billion in 2019 with Uganda remaining the leading export destination, accounting for 28.6 per cent of total exports to Africa,” reads the report by KNBS. Exports to Rwanda and Tanzania also increased by 29.9 per cent and 13.0 per cent, respectively increasing the exports to EAC by 8.0 per cent to...

Informality is pervasive across the developing world. It is estimated that a substantial share (30%-40%) of Africa’s regional trade is informal, and that four times as many cross border traders are likely to be operating outside the formal economy than within it. Cross-border trade can encourage entrepreneurial activity and regional trade integration, and create employment opportunities for vulnerable groups. In fact, a key feature of informal cross-border trade is that most traders are women, for whom such trade is often their main or even only source of income. UNCTAD’s research found that African cross-border traders, especially women, face various obstacles that hinder their growth opportunities. Obstacles at the border include poor facilities, cumbersome processes, weak governance, payment of undue fees, harassment, bribery, and corruption. Traders also face supply-side barriers, such as misinformation about customs procedures and regulations, lack of access to capital and assets, limited literacy and entrepreneurial skills, among others. Moreover, when crossing the border through unofficial paths, female traders can be subject to fines, confiscation of goods, and sexual assault. Among these obstacles, access to finance was identified as one of the most pressing challenges for traders. However, field findings also show that most women traders have a mobile phone, which can open up opportunities to enable them to become financially included. Innovative technologies like mobile-phone-enabled solutions can expand access to basic financial services. Mobile money, for example, enables individuals to store and transact money in digital form without the need of a bank account. Research has also...