The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is currently causing significant adverse impact on the global economy occasioned by countries imposing measures to mitigate increasing cases and also sanctioning countries with more cases. Governments around the world are implementing various fiscal measures to mitigate the adverse effect and provide relief for businesses and households. Across the Eastern African region, the impacts of COVID-19 are being felt in different ways and the measures taken by the respective governments have also differed on the areas of focus and comprehensiveness. The third wave of coronavirus in Kenya saw President Uhuru Kenyatta issue a couple of measures restricting movement by locking the Capital city Nairobi and Neighboring counties as a one zoned area. Kenya’s decision to halt the movement of interstate buses across its border following a surge in Covid-19 cases has left many business persons across East Africa stranded since the ban on movement by air, rail and roads came into effect within the zoned area. President Uhuru Kenyatta on march 26 ordered a lockdown suspending movement in and out of five Kenyan counties of Nairobi, Nakuru, Machakos, Kajiado and Kiambu. With Kenya being the major exporter and importer of the East African Community (EAC), accounting for around 46 percent of exports and 41 percent of imports for the whole region. As well as also responsible for more than half of manufacturing value-added produced by the East African Community (EAC) (Mold, 2017),which implies that Kenya has some competitive advantages in merchandise goods (beyond primary exports), EAC...

Mudassir Amray, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Titan Trust Bank Limited, has said that the lender’s groundbreaking successes in just 17 months of its commercial operations despite the COVID-19 pandemic, was tied to its unmatched digital technology which has delivered superior customer-centric experience. In a chat with selected journalists in Lagos at the weekend, Mudassir Amray said as a financial service provider that is passionate about the future, Titan Trust Bank positioned itself for delivering seamless banking services to its teeming customers during the pandemic by continued investment in its alternative banking channels which include: the Titan Mobile Application, Titan Internet Banking platform and the Titan *922# Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) solution. According to him: “At the inception of the bank’s operations in October 2019, we drew up a holistic and integrated approach to business modernization which has formed the foundation for the bank’s superior customer-centric experience. The impact of this strategic decision led to a positive impact in our performance and it has also given us recognition on the global stage where we recently emerged the ‘Best Trade Finance Provider in Nigeria for the year 2021’, an award previously given by New York-based Global Finance Magazine to only the first-tier banks in Nigeria. “In a demonstration of our commitment to deliver superior, convenient and innovative banking solutions to our customers, we have invested substantially in technology and developed fully integrated service models that enable our customers to enjoy banking services through a wide range of...

Mon Mar 29 2021Africa is set to recover from its worst recession in half a century. Real GDP is projected to grow by 3.4 per cent in 2021 after contracting by an estimated 2.1 per cent in 2020, mainly due to COVID-19 related disruptions, according to the African Development Bank’s recently released African Economic Outlook (AEO). The pandemic also caused deep scars in the financing and debt landscape of the continent that may linger on if not quickly addressed.FG warns against encroaching on national monumentsAt the launch of the AEO, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz rightly explained how the COVID-19 pandemic caused both demand- and supply-side shocks in the continent. “It affected the demand for exports of African countries…but it also affected the willingness of people to work in some of the more exposed sectors and its effects were very disparate across different sectors.” Following Stiglitz’s train of thought, Africa’s projected recovery will be subject to an unusually high level of uncertainty and risks, as is also pointed out in the analyses of the AEO.The most obvious risk to the recovery is the disease itself. The emergence of more contagious strains of the COVID-19 virus could derail the recovery process. Furthermore, if progress in deploying safe and effective treatment is slower than expected, governments would have to reinstate restrictions. headtopics.com On the upside, if COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines become accessible in the continent earlier than anticipated, the growth projection for 2021 could be exceeded, leading to a more robust recovery.Another risk...

Summary Canada invested $100 million to support indigenous women and children experiencing violence and financed women’s shelters, sexual assault centres and other organisations providing SGBV services. Women put people first and that seems to be the approach that delivered better Covid-19 outcomes in female-led countries. In Canada, half of the ambassadors are women, that’s change. Kenya and Canada share an identity when it comes to gender equality. They are among the few countries that adopted gender responsive measures in the fight against Covid-19. On one hand, Kenya invested in investigating the cause of rise in teenage pregnancies and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and established a multi-agency team to tackle the problem. Canada on its part, invested $100 million to support indigenous women and children experiencing violence and financed women’s shelters, sexual assault centres and other organisations providing SGBV services. As the world shifts focus to redeeming the lost gains and building stronger economies of economically, politically, culturally and socially stable women and girls, we speak with Canadian High Commission to Kenya, Ms Lisa Stadelbauer to pick her mind on the way forward. Studies have shown women-led countries outperformed men’s in Covid-19 response, what does this mean? That is interesting and it is a moment in time we need to sit down and think why it is the case. One theory that has been put forward is that men are risk enthusiasts. And so countries that took a more cautious approach tend to have come out of the pandemic a...

A trade support organisation has called for the revision of the Simplified Trading Regime to enable cross-border women traders participate more. In a report released last week, Ms Sheila Kawamara Mishambi, the Eastern African Sub-Regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI) executive director, said the impact of Covid-19 on cross-border women traders across East Africa had mostly been immense forcing closure of at least 64.2 per cent of women-owned businesses. The Simplified Trading Regime supports small-scale traders to benefit from simplified customs document and simplified certificate of origin, under which goods that originate from member countries and whose value does not exceed $2,000 (Shs7.3m) per consignment, qualify for duty-free entry in the respective markets. Ms Kawamara said stakeholders and government must find ways through which they encourage cross-border women traders to form cooperatives that will enable them conduct structured trade. This, she said, will enhance resilience, growth and sustainability of cross-border women traders. Through cooperatives, Ms Kawamara noted, women will benefit from economies of scale by buying cheaply, paying less on logistics, accessing better markets as well as getting support to adopt electronic commerce. She also noted that cross-border women traders are unable to individually adopt e-commerce but can ably do so if they work in groups, adding that e-commerce is going to be the new normal. The report, which was produced by EASSI in collaboration with TradeMark Africa, found that Covid-19 and the resultant closure of borders, had dented cross-border women businesses with trade falling by at...

A meeting by experts to assess the implementation of the strategies for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was started this Tuesday in Mombasa to engage different sectors and look into how Kenya can benefit from the agreement. The meeting that will take place for four days has been organized by the UN Economic Commission for Africa together with the Kenya State Department for Trade and Enterprise Development and TradeMark Africa. The experts who are participating include officials, trade economists, academia, development partners and youth and women’s representatives. Mr Geoffrey Manyara, who represented the ECA stated that Kenya and East Africa will benefit greatly from the liberalization of trade under AfCFTA. The Deputy Director for International Trade at the Kenya Ministry of Industrialization, Ms Gladys Kinyuah, said that the government has already focused on implementing the agreement by considering the recommendations from the private sector. Trademark East Africa is confident that, the AfCFTA holds great potential for Kenya, which exports 40 per cent of its total exports within the continent. Frank Matsaert, the Team’s CEO stated that “For the full benefit of the trade deal to be realized, it is essential that Kenya prioritizes key and high potential sectors and markets and backs this with a well thought-out action plan and strategic interventions”. A study conducted by ECA and Trademark East Africa concludes that the trade treaty will lead to an important expansion of East African economies, a US$ 1.1 billion boost in inter-regional trade, creating more than 2...

An experts’ meeting to review Kenya’s implementation strategy for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is ongoing in Mombasa to discuss a range of sectors that could help the country benefit from the agreement. About 40 experts are attending the four-day meeting organized by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in collaboration with other partners. A study conducted by Trademark East Africa (TMA) and ECA forecasts the trade treaty will lead to significant diversification of East African economies, a $1.1 billion boost in inter-regional trade, creating more than two million jobs. According to TMA, one of the partners, the AfCFTA holds great potential for Kenya, which already exports 40 per cent of its total exports within the continent. Speaking on behalf of ECA in Eastern Africa, Geoffrey Manyara recalled that liberalisation of trade under AfCFTA will harbour great benefits for Kenya and East Africa at large. “Everyone will gain, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)” Manyara said. Earlier this month Kenyan stakeholders ended another review meeting on the same implementation strategy in Naivasha after incorporating new components with wide ramifications for the economy. They included topics such as e-commerce, climate change and Covid-19, which since last year disrupted production and trade flow across the world, to enable the East African country to derive maximum benefits from the agreement. Frank Matsaert, TMA CEO, on Tuesday, said that for the full benefit of the trade deal to be realised, it is essential that Kenya prioritizes key and high potential sectors...

Kenya and Canada share an identity when it comes to gender equality. They are among the few countries that adopted gender responsive measures in the fight against Covid-19. On one hand, Kenya invested in investigating the cause of rise in teenage pregnancies and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and established a multi-agency team to tackle the problem. Canada on its part, invested $100 million to support indigenous women and children experiencing violence and financed women's shelters, sexual assault centres and other organisations providing SGBV services. As the world shifts focus to redeeming the lost gains and building stronger economies of economically, politically, culturally and socially stable women and girls, we speak with Canadian High Commission to Kenya, Ms Lisa Stadelbauer to pick her mind on the way forward. Studies have shown women-led countries outperformed men's in Covid-19 response, what does this mean? That is interesting and it is a moment in time we need to sit down and think why it is the case. One theory that has been put forward is that men are risk enthusiasts. And so countries that took a more cautious approach tend to have come out of the pandemic a little better. Women also tend to lead from a place of empathy and compassion. They put people first and that seems to be the approach that delivered better outcomes. The other thing about women is "what does it mean for women and girls?" In my own country, we have 10 provinces and three territories, and each has...

One of the worst things that can happen to a cryptocurrency is a wallet hack. That, and a few more mishaps, is what happened to IOTA since 2017. As a result, IOTA lost momentum and market cap: from 4th overall, with a market cap of $13,2 billion in 2017, to 25th, with a market cap of $4 billion today. background pattern: IOTA is reinventing itself, with what it calls "A new dawn" for the project © ZDNet IOTA is reinventing itself, with what it calls "A new dawn" for the project Today IOTA is rolling out the beta version of its new wallet. But that really is just the tip of the iceberg in a massive new technology rollout that will get things right this time, IOTA Foundation Co-founder and CEO Dominik Schiener told ZDNet. Blockchain for nothing and transactions for free? Lots of water has flowed under the bridge since 2017. Crypto was just entering the mainstream then, and ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) were all the rage. Fast-forwarding to today, and the world at large is still trying to figure out crypto, most ICOs have gone awry, and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are all the rage. The real question, however, is how much the technology and the people behind and into it have matured. For the IOTA Foundation, a lot of things have changed, including the core team. As Schiener put it: "The IOTA project in 2021 is a completely new project compared to 2017 because as you can probably...

KENYA’S exports to key markets in Africa rose to an eight-year high in 2020, provisional international trade data show, defying delays at border points caused by efforts to stem the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Data collated by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) indicate value of goods that were sold to other countries on the continent amounted to KSh243.68bn, (about $2.3bn) a 9.07 percent growth over the previous year. The growth in value of trade between Kenya and Africa to the highest level since 2012 (KSh247.60bn) was largely driven by demand in smaller exports destinations on the continent. Nairobi is championing a plan to remove trade barriers among African countries to grow movement of goods, services and labour through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which aims to create a market of at least 1.2 billion. Kenya, whose sales to Africa accounted for 38 percent of total global exports of KSh641.21bn, lost to Accra in race to host the AfCFTA secretariat in July 2019, a pointer to its push for intra-Africa trade which remains at a lowly 10 percent of Africa’s total trade with the world. ‘For the full benefit of the (AfCFTA) trade deal to be realised, it is essential Kenya prioritises key and high potential sectors and markets and backs this with a well-thought action plan and strategic interventions,’ Frank Matsaert, the CEO of Trademark East Africa, told a meeting to review Kenya’s AfCFTA implementation strategy on Monday. The CBK data, sourced from the Kenya Revenue...