Britain’s Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt will make his first visit to Kenya on Friday. He will be in the country as part of a five-nation five-day tour of Africa designed to push post-Brexit trade links with sub-Saharan Africa in the event that the UK does actually leave the European Union. Hunt, a former Secretary of State for Health and a leadership candidate for the ruling Conservative party in the UK, was formerly in favour of Britain remaining in the EU but is now a committed Brexiteer. With his party floundering in the polls and expected to take a hammering in both the local municipal elections in the UK tomorrow (Thursday) and the EU elections on May 23, due to the increasing Brexit divide in the country, the Tories have been working on trying to establish new trade deals with Africa following Prime Minister Theresa May’s visit last year. Mr Hunt said: “Africa is a continent growing at an extraordinary rate, full of transformative potential. “In a future where Britain is no longer a member of the EU, I want us to work within and alongside African nations to make sure, together, we combat the threats we all face, and capitalise on the opportunities open to people wherever they live. Partner of choice “To do this, I want to set out the stall for the UK to be the new partner of choice across Africa.” The UK’s aim is try to convince African countries that Brexit will bring trade benefits outside...

Many years of internecine conflict is being replaced by a new narrative of peace along the Kenya-Ethiopia border. Communities that once fought each other are now dreaming of a joint journey towards a better future. Diverse communities constitute the inhabitants of the border area, a vast swathe with great potential to advance beneficial integration between the two countries. But niggling rivalries and violent conflicts have persisted for years, constraining any meaningful cross-border socio-economic activities. The conflicts have been driven by a plethora of problems – scarcity of pasture & water, cattle rustling, politics of ethnicity and political/administrative boundary disputes. With such clashes being the dominant motif in the region, leaders from the two countries have become frustrated by adverse impacts on trade, not just along their border but on wider regional integration and development between the two countries. Kenya and Ethiopia provide a market of about 150 million people. While Ethiopia is known for its agro-based industries such as leather and coffee, Kenya has a relatively advanced manufacturing and tourism sectors, with collaboration between the two capable of developing strong regional value chains. It is this dormant strength and potential that led the governments of Ethiopia and Kenya, in partnership with IGAD, the European Union and the United Nations, to establish an integrated cross-border initiative to foster peace and sustainable development around Marsabit County in Kenya and Borana/Dawa Zones of Ethiopia. While the historic agreement between Ethiopia and Kenya was witnessed by the leaders of the two countries at a high-profiled event...

A team from the Department for International Development – United Kingdom (DFID-UK), has pledged to continue supporting Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to achieve operational efficiencies especially in the area of innovation. Led by Head of DFID-Kenya, Julius Court and officials from Trade Mark East Africa, the team visited Mombasa Port where they were impressed by the degree of planning and investments at the port and vowed to continue with the collaboration. KPA General Manager Engineering services, Eng Rashid Salim and the Head of Corporate Development Martin Mutuku took the delegation through a presentation, followed by a tour of key facilities. Trade Mark East Africa collaborates with KPA in a number of projects including the Green Port Policy, one of the most significant projects that KPA is spearheading, to protect the environment. Last year KPA acquired 4 eco-hoppers funded by Trade Mark East Africa to reduce dust emission when handling dirty cargo. Source: Vash Media

As far as trading blocs go, the European Union (EU) has been a global case study of turning 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 90s, the EU defied all odds and continued to expand in depth and geography in a historic feat. However, only two years ago, this ideal trading bloc took a hit with 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 intra-East African Community (EAC) trade in the past few years will reveal tension-filled and sometimes hectic trade-relations, as well as an overall cloud of uncertainty on the future of the EAC. Yet with our geographical advantages, natural resources and global reputation, the 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 an equal and mutually beneficial platform. While there isn’t much comparison to be made with the EU, one indisputable thing is that their integration process was marred by political and social differences especially with bringing on board of Eastern European countries. This, many times, caused uproar in member States with populations demanding that their nations’needs come first’. Through the chaos, nonetheless, members designed new institutions with a view to open up markets and...

Businessman Eddy Njoroge will set up office in Nairobi while serving as the first African to head the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) in 70 years. The 162-member-countries organisation unanimously backed the 66-year-old for the top position during the ISO General Assembly held in Geneva, Switzerland, last year. He will serve for two years between January 2020 and December 2022. The former KenGen CEO said he would operate from Nairobi when he replaces Canadian John Walter as the president of the global standard’s body. Mr Njoroge, who was elected unopposed last October, said he would advocate inclusion of views from developing countries on standards formulation. This, he said, would promote adoption of standards as well as enhance devotion to set standards by the developing countries. "Standards formulation should no longer be preserve of the developed countries that are later forced on developing countries keen on exporting goods to developed world," he said. “This will enable developing countries, among them Kenya to participate in international trade as their goodswill have met standards they participated in making.” Local products have in the past been barred from accessing western markets over failure to conform to European standards. Founded on February 23 1947, the organisation promotes worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial standards. Source: Business Daily

African industrialisation has to be among the most important things happening in the world right now. The vast continent, with a population of more than 1.2 billion people, is home to an increasing fraction of people who are still mired in extreme poverty: By 2030, the World Bank projects that almost all the people in extreme poverty will live in sub-Saharan Africa. The reason is twofold. First, Africa’s population is growing rapidly. Second, Africa has lagged in the industrialisation necessary to generate mass employment. The lack of strong, stable governments — a legacy of colonialism — has made it difficult to provide the education, infrastructure, court systems and other public goods that help prepare countries for the leap from subsistence farming to factory work. Well-meaning Western aid and international development agencies couldn’t fill the gap. Meanwhile, nations in East Asia and Southeast Asia became the world’s factories before Africa did. But late doesn’t mean never. Rising labour costs in China, and the threat of US tariffs are finally causing manufacturers to diversify their supply chains. Some of their factories will go to Vietnam and Bangladesh, two rising stars of the developing world. But those countries won’t be big enough to replace China, which means that if manufacturers really want to keep costs down, many will have to look to Africa. INVESTMENT This process is already well underway. In her The Next Factory of the World: How Chinese Investment Is Reshaping Africa, Irene Yuan Sun — a development-aid worker turned McKinsey &...

In the past one year, Ethiopia and Kenya have witnessed a re-awakening of bilateral relations, which by extension have revitalised and re-energised a new development chapter for both countries. This is against the backdrop of historical similarities between the two countries, which for a long time had either been accorded little significance or played second fiddle to other competing goals. STRATEGIC PARTNERS The moment is now ripe to explore development opportunities for the betterment of our people. The clarion call of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to regional neighbouring countries is to integrate. This is because the destiny of the Horn of Africa countries is intertwined. For Ethiopia and Kenya, our destiny is cemented permanently. Together, we should pursue a collective and complimentary outcome to the betterment of over 150 million people in the two countries. In order to realise gainful deeds from above, we should on the one hand understand that Ethiopia and Kenya are strategic partners not competitors, and on the other hand, we should identify comparative advantages that are a stock of our countries. How well we utilise both ends will determine the success of bilateral partnership. In this new chapter, the common goals of people underlie the prevailing national development agenda items. For instance, it’s no coincidence that the Big Four agenda in Kenya coincides with the main strategic areas of Ethiopia’s development agenda. Yet, there are areas where Ethiopia is technically and resourcefully endowed and possesses strong comparative advantage, and can in effect benefit Kenya’s Big...

In March 2018, 44 African countries committed to the launch of a common market for Africa - the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Although 52 African countries have signed the agreement establishing the AfCFTA, so far 22 countries have ratified it; and 22 ratifications are needed in 2019 to enable it enter into force. The AfCFTA Agreement will enter into force 30 days after the required number of ratifications have been deposited with the AU. It is intended to bring together 55 member states of the African Union covering a market of more than 1.2 billion people and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of more than $3.4 trillion. It will be the world’s largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organisation in terms of participating member states. The Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) suggests that the AfCFTA has the potential both to boost intra-African trade by 52.3 per cent (by 2022) by eliminating import duties (90 per cent), and to double this trade if non-tariff barriers are also reduced. The current intra-Africa trade fluctuates between 15 and 18 per cent only. There is a debate on what this means for African countries, with optimists arguing that the new agreement creates a fertile ground for the development of stronger and more productive economic ties, while the skeptics dismiss it altogether. This undertaking includes commitment by member states to progressively eliminate tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade in goods and liberalise trade in services; cooperate on...

In the recently released World Economic Situation and Prospects for 2018 report, Africa’s economic growth for 2019 is projected at 3.4%, a marginal increase of 0.9% from 2018. What do countries need to do to accelerate economic growth? Low productivity is a problem. There must be higher uptakes in innovations and new technologies to propel productivity in the agriculture and small-scale enterprises. Agricultural modernization in most countries is low, as it is still rudimentary, not capitalized and not commercialized. This means we have a huge potential there. The continent’s economies are vulnerable to the volatility of commodity prices in the global market. That’s why diversification is the solution. Africa must diversify its agricultural products, and add value to its primary commodities and exports to avoid exporting its jobs to the rest of the world. In 2003 African leaders met in Maputo, Mozambique, and agreed to invest at least 10% of their national budgets in agriculture. Only a few countries have met that commitment. Why is this so? Fifteen years after the Maputo Declaration, only seven countries—Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Niger, Mali, Malawi, Senegal and Zambia—have consistently met this target. In fact, countries like Malawi even went beyond the target, achieving as high as 21% in 2013 compared to the average of 3.1% for sub-Saharan Africa. Several factors account for underinvestment in agriculture in Africa. The implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme in Africa reduced agriculture financing; low international funding of agriculture weakens policy space for agricultural spending; low political will to...

At their meeting in Arusha this week, members of East Africa Business Council (EABC) who teamed up with UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said they foresee large potential gains from the AfCFTA, including an increase in intra-African exports of Eastern Africa by nearly US$ 1 billion and job creation of 0.5 to 1.9 million. “Together African economies have a collective gross domestic product of U$2.5 trillion, making it the 8th largest economy in the world. That makes the continent much more attractive to investment, both from within and from outside the continent,” said Andrew Mold, acting Director of ECA in Eastern Africa. “This should encourage business people to take advantage of AfCFTA and make the investments necessary to sustain economic growth and create employment,” Mold added. EABC Chairman, Nick Nesbitt emphasized the importance of the continent having a clear vision to put an end to the fragmentation of the internal market. “I really applaud everybody who has been involved in creating the AfCFTA because their vision is the one of pan-Africanism.,” Nesbitt said. “It is something our founding founders aspired to. Our thanks to ECA for being at forefront of this conversation and pushing the agenda forward so that the continent becomes a single economic trading bloc,” he added. Speaking at the same gathering, Director General of Customs and Trade at East African Community Secretariat, Kenneth Bagamuhunda cited the experience of regional economic communities as the building blocks for the AfCFTA. “The AfCFTA should build on what has already...