A few weeks ago, while in India to undertake due diligence on a fintech firm we are interested in doing business with, I observed how things work to better understand what drives the economy. In an election year, it wasn’t difficult to discern the government’s key message: Over $400 billion spent in the past decade on direct cash benefits to 900 million people in low-income households. India has one of the largest cash transfer programmes with an annual handout of 6,000 rupees to over 110 million farmers. It does this through a social infrastructure, the ‘JAM Trinity’ linking bank accounts (Jan Dhan Yojana), biometric national identity cards (Aadhar cards) and mobile numbers. Benefits include pensions, subsidies and loans delivered via transfers to bank accounts linked to biometric national ID cards held by over a billion Indians—akin to linking Huduma cards with M-Pesa numbers for transparency. Financial Inclusion 101. Banking systems The greatest achievement of this trinity is the ability for fintechs to collaborate and integrate their technologies with core banking systems to enable financial access. Interoperability of these systems is regulated to enable eKYC, digital credit underwriting and customer data protection compliance. Watching the local origination teams going about their business is a sight to behold. Turnaround time reduction is real and a task that would take days takes minutes. It takes a couple of minutes for a credit decision to be made and a maximum of four days for the money to hit the bank account. Trust is a...

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB), has organized a Stakeholder Consultation and Validation Workshop for the Spatial Development Initiative (SDI) study of the Interim Report for the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor from May 14 to 16, 2024, in Accra, Ghana. The three-day workshop brought together experts from the ECOWAS Department of Infrastructure, the ECOWAS Project Preparation and Development Unit (PPDU), the Canadian Pacific Consulting Services (CPCS), representatives of the Ministries of Infrastructure of the Corridor countries and project focal points, some representatives of other State Departments and Agencies who are considered stakeholders of the Project, the African Development Bank, the European Union, UEMOA, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organization (ALCO), the World Bank, JICA, AFEXIMBANK, Trade Mark Africa (TMA), the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, and the West African Development Bank (BOAD). The experts deliberated on the results of the SDI study, including a comprehensive roadmap for the development of the Abidjan-Lagos corridor, considering economic, social, environmental, and logistical factors, that will enable them to obtain funding and support from international organizations, governments, and private investors. The SDI study aims to (i) identify and unlock the region's inherent and latent economic potential and ensure the commercial viability of the project as well as the economic and industrial value chains, (ii) provide tools and methodology for an economic survey, (iii) propose a mechanism for building consensus among all key project stakeholders, (iv) shed light on...

Les agences commerciales kényanes, avec le soutien de TradeMark Africa (TMA) et le financement de partenaires internationaux tels que le Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) du Royaume-Uni au Kenya, progressent dans l'amélioration des processus d'importation et d'exportation. Ces améliorations rendent le commerce plus rapide et plus rentable, ce qui profite aux commerçants du pays et de la région. Une mission récente a permis d'évaluer l'impact du partenariat établi. Lors d'une récente visite au Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) et à l'Inland Container Depot (ICDN) de Nairobi, des fonctionnaires de TMA et de FCDO, ainsi que des représentants du KEBS et de la Kenya Ports Authority, ont évalué l'impact des projets menés dans les laboratoires du KEBS et à l'Inland Container Depot (ICDN) de Nairobi, qui sont conçus pour garantir la qualité des produits et la gestion des cargaisons. La mission a pris note des principales réalisations des cinq dernières années, telles que la numérisation des systèmes commerciaux. La mise en œuvre du système intégré de gestion des douanes (iCMS), ainsi que des initiatives telles que le territoire douanier unique de la Communauté de l'Afrique de l'Est (CAE) et le système électronique régional de suivi des marchandises (RECTS) ont permis de réduire de plus de 30 % les délais d'attente des marchandises à l'ICDN. Ces améliorations ont permis de décongestionner le port de Mombasa et de faciliter la circulation des marchandises dans le corridor nord du Kenya. En collaboration avec TMA, financée par le FCDO, la KEBS a mis en...

Lors d'une réunion stratégique visant à renforcer l'intégration régionale et la croissance économique, Mme Annette Ssemuwemba Mutaawe, secrétaire générale par intérim du secrétariat de la Communauté d'Afrique de l'Est (CAE), a rencontré les dirigeants de TradeMark Africa (TMA), emmenés par le PDG Dave Beer. La discussion a porté sur l'engagement des deux organisations à s'attaquer aux barrières commerciales régionales, à améliorer les infrastructures et à promouvoir des pratiques économiques durables dans toute l'Afrique de l'Est. Éliminer les barrières : La lutte contre les barrières non tarifaires (BNT) Les progrès réalisés dans l'élimination des barrières non tarifaires (BNT) ont constitué l'un des principaux sujets de discussion. Ces barrières ont longtemps imposé des coûts substantiels à la région en ralentissant le commerce et en augmentant les frais de transaction.  Un rapport de 2023 du comité de la réunion régionale de la CAE a mis en évidence l'impact économique des BNT et l'a estimé à environ 16,7 millions de dollars. En conséquence, la CAE a donné la priorité à l'élimination de ces barrières afin d'améliorer l'efficacité économique à travers les frontières. Lors de la réunion du comité régional de suivi des BNT qui s'est tenue au début du mois de mai 2024, quatre des dix BNT en suspens ont été résolues, ce qui ouvre la voie à un commerce plus fluide. Les mécanismes d'identification, de signalement et de résolution des BNT sont en cours d'amélioration pour inclure des outils de signalement par SMS, qui s'intégreront à l'application mobile régionale. Cette mise à niveau...

Le gouvernement éthiopien a reçu la première cargaison de 60 000 tonnes d'engrais importés du Maroc par le port de Lamu. C'est la première fois que l'Éthiopie importe des marchandises par le port de Lamu depuis sa mise en service il y a trois ans. Au cours des derniers mois, une délégation éthiopienne a évalué la viabilité du corridor de transit Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia (Lapsset). Depuis de nombreuses années, l'Éthiopie utilise principalement les ports de Djibouti et de Mombasa. Samedi, un navire éthiopien, MV Abbay II, a commencé à décharger les 60 000 tonnes d'engrais en vrac. Le directeur général de la Kenya Ports Authority, William Ruto, a déclaré qu'il s'agissait de la plus importante cargaison d'engrais en vrac à avoir accosté au Kenya. "Cela témoigne de nombreuses années de planification, de dévouement et de travail acharné pour faire du port de Lamu une plaque tournante de la logistique dans la région", a-t-il déclaré. L'engrais a été ensaché dans le port, avant d'être chargé dans les camions en attente pour le transport vers l'Éthiopie. "Nous sommes reconnaissants et pensons qu'il s'agit du premier des nombreux navires transportant des marchandises à destination de l'Éthiopie que nous traiterons à l'avenir", a déclaré M. Ruto. Le ministre éthiopien de l'agriculture, Girma Amante, a déclaré que le corridor de transit Lamu Port-Soudan du Sud-Éthiopie est un projet de transformation essentiel pour l'ambition de l'Afrique d'établir une zone de libre-échange continentale, car il soutient la libre circulation des biens, des services et des personnes à...

Since its establishment at the African Union meeting in Kigali in March 2018, much ink has been spilt and much media attention has been heaped upon the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Yet a lot of misconceptions persist. Borderless Africa was written essentially to clarify those misconceptions and to reemphasise the political economic case for the AfCFTA. We advance the argument that if it wants to achieve its long-term developmental goals, Africa no longer has any viable strategic alternative but to accelerate continental integration under the aegis of the AfCFTA. Despite its name, the AfCFTA actually goes well beyond the creation of a free trade area – it is about forming a continental market. Yet the wording ‘free trade’ understandably provokes adverse reactions in certain quarters, as it is often associated with economic liberalisation programmes of the 1980s and 1990s – ‘Structural Adjustment Programmes’ – that caused a lot of economic pain in Africa with very little gain. However, the critics are guilty of making a false equivalence – if it were true that the AfCFTA were a neoliberal project, then all attempts at regional integration would be open to the same accusation. An idea whose time has come In fact, the AfCFTA is firmly grounded in longstanding pan-African ideas of how to achieve greater unity among African countries. This goes beyond the usual names associated with pan-Africanism (Nkrumah, Nyerere, Senghor, etc.): Borderless Africa builds heavily on insights of two intellectuals that were deeply committed to pan-African ideals – Adebajo Adedeji and Thandika Mkandawire. In fact, Adedeji was one of the principal...

Trade within the East African Community has recorded a significant increase at the expense of trade with markets outside the continent. The EAC has also increased its trade with African countries outside of its sub-region. This is a result of the region’s deliberate efforts to boost intra-Africa trade. As reported by the East African, the seven countries that make up the East African Community, according to the most recent data from the EAC Secretariat grew their trade with the rest of Africa by $584.6 million to $4.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, a 14% increase over the same time in 2022. Also trade amongst the community grew by 12% from $2.6 billion to $2.9 billion in the fourth quarter of the previous year, a sign of increasing commerce throughout the area throughout the year. In contrast, the EAC’s trade with the European Union, which would typically account for 10% of all its trades fell by 14% from $2.04 billion in the three months to December 2022, to $1.7 billion in the last quarter of 2023. Belgium saw the most steep decline in its trade with the EAC, dropping by 45% from $263 million in Q4 of 2023 to $188 million in Q4 of the same year. The USA recorded a 19% drop from $200 million in 2022’s October–December to $161 million in the previous year. Germany, Italy, and Switzerland’s trade with the EAC fell by 12%, 2%, and 23%, respectively. The EAC’s trade with its Asian partners also...

The Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia (Lapsset) Corridor Development Authority has rolled out plans to establish a special economic zone (SEZ) with the search for a consultant to draw a masterplan for land use. The agency says in a request for proposal (RFP) that the special zone seeks to attract firms dealing in food and beverage, textiles, leather, automotive, warehousing and logistics. “The key objectives of the master plan preparation for the SEZ include but are not limited to … creating a basis on which future physical and land use development plans within the SEZ will be prepared,” the agency said in the RFP. The consultant will also identify sectors that are likely to thrive within the SEZ and design the infrastructure to enable the zone to open up the Lamu Port. Tax incentives offered to firms operating in SEZs and the location at the port is expected to attract firms to the zone and create more jobs. SEZ enterprises do not register for value added tax (VAT) while firms supplying goods and taxable services to a SEZ pay zero VAT, allowing them to recover input tax. They also pay lower corporate income taxes –10 percent in the first 10 years and 15 percent in the subsequent decade. The standard corporate income tax in Kenya is 30 percent. “The consultant will be expected to prepare master plan designs, prototypes and implementation plans will guide the zoning development of the infrastructure and physical structures of the Lapsset Lamu SEZ,” the agency said. “The designs...

he ECOWAS Commission organized the 5th Meeting of the ECOWAS Regional Trade Facilitation Committee (RTFC) in Cotonou, Benin from 30th April to 3rd May 2024. The meeting aimed to advance the status of regional trade facilitation initiatives within the ECOWAS region whilst focusing on enhancing the implementation of existing initiatives, addressing non-tariff barriers, and strengthening the agri-food value chain.   On behalf of Madam Shadiya Alimatou Assouman, the Honourable Minister of Industry and Trade of Benin, Mr. Benjamin ALAMENOU welcomed participants to Cotonou. In his remarks, he outlined the need to overcome trade barriers to realize the vision of free trade and the importance of initiatives like the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), Brown Card Scheme, and Common External Tariff (CET) towards achieving the ECOWAS Vision 2050. He called upon Member States to leverage the meeting as a platform for engaging in productive discussions to collaboratively address trade barriers and foster regional trade growth.  The ECOWAS Resident Representative to Benin, Ambassador Amadou DIONGUE extended a warm welcome to the meeting’s participants and partners collaborating with Member States to advance trade facilitation in the region. He highlighted the significance of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and highlighted the progress made in implementing trade facilitation measures in the region including the establishment of National Trade Facilitation Committees (NTFC) and the RTFC.  Inspection Of Seme Krake Jbp By Rtfc The representative of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment from the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Chairperson of the...

The Ethiopian government has received the first shipment of 60,000 tonnes of fertiliser imported through the Port of Lamu from Morocco. This is the first time Ethiopia is importing cargo through Lamu Port since its operationalisation three years ago. In the past few months, a delegation from Ethiopia has been assessing the viability of Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transit (Lapsset) corridor. For many years, Ethiopia has been mainly using the Port of Djibouti and Mombasa. On Saturday, an Ethiopian ship, MV Abbay II, started offloading the 60,000 tonnes of bulk fertiliser. Kenya Ports Authority managing director William Ruto said this is the largest consignment of bulk fertiliser to have docked in Kenya. “Indeed, this is a testament to many years of planning, dedication and hard work towards positioning the Port of Lamu as a logistics hub in the region,” he said. The fertiliser was bagged at the port, before being loaded on the waiting trucks for transportation to Ethiopia. “We are thankful and believe this is the first of the many vessels carrying Ethiopian bound cargo that we shall handle going forward,” Ruto said. Ethiopia’s Minister of Agriculture Girma Amante said the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transit Corridor is a transformative project critical for Africa's ambition to establish a continental free trade area, as it supports the free movement of goods, services and people across the borders. “Ethiopia is one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa, given the size of its population, as the second most populous country in Africa. Therefore, it...