The government has done a lot to increase capital access to special groups like women, youth and persons with disabilities, however, more needs to be done. So far, the government, through the Central Bank of Tanzania has eased borrowing and reserve requirements for commercial banks and in so doing eased lending caps of these banks. The expected result is that commercial banks can now loan out at lower rates under easier terms. It is working, many SMEs are staying afloat thanks to capital access under these terms however, for women and youth who do not possess a business or who are working in the informal sector, access to bank loans is simply out of the question, most of them do not meet the basic requirements. To address this constraint, the government sets aside a budget for youth and women groups’ support. To access this funding, youth and women are to form groups and develop a business plan and the funding is issued by their respective local government authority based on their geographical locations. This is where Direct Selling comes in. Direct Selling is the most practical solution to self-employment for youth and more so for women. Due to the nature of Direct Selling, for example, women can easily carry on their day to home obligations while conducting sales. On the other hand, Direct Selling offers secondary or alternative revenue for employed women and with growing use of digital platforms in Africa, this is a most flexible yet lucrative avenue for...

TANZANIA Women Chamber Of Commerce (TWCC) is staging Women Industrial Week fair early next month in Dar es Salaam. The exhibition will also be used as a platform to award best exhibitors, among others, at a separate event to be held a day after the fair ends. The TWCC Chairperson Ms Mercy Sila challenged women to participate in the fair’s second edition that will acknowledge women who played important economic roles to develop societies around them and the nation at large. “Women are such important organs for the growth and sustainability of any society, and there are tangible and positive economic impacts a woman can bring about when trusted and given opportunities to prove themselves” Ms Mercy said. The women chamber will use the Women Industrial Week to evaluate themselves, and hence create plans to sustain their businesses. These awards main aim is to acknowledge and honour important roles played by both successful and emerging women in industry and trade sectors. Also to strengthening and arise the spirit of entrepreneurship to women currently and future generations, and to celebrate huge success by the women in industry and trade sectors. Trademark East Africa (TMA) is the main partner and supporter of these awards for two years in a row through its programme “Capacity Building to Women Cross Border Traders in Tanzania” since 2012 aiming in building capacity and support women towards trade across the East African Countries. Through the programme, TWCC targets in reaching and support about 10,000 women in the...

Aid-for-trade organisation TradeMark Africa plans to take a step towards pan-African scale by setting up operations in West Africa, CEO Frank Matsaert tells The Africa Report. The secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) asked TradeMark to look at West Africa, and it has secured an initial grant from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Matsaert says. TradeMark will be seeking to get further grants and private-sector funding, he adds. “Our aim is to become a pan-African trade facilitator.” Read original article

Summary More often than not, the barriers are imposed with be objective of protecting the imposing country’s producers of the traded goods, mostly for the domestic market. Non-tariff barriers include – but are not limited to – import quotas/bans, subsidies for domestic producers, protectionism and other technical barriers. A recent dialogue between major business stakeholders from both the public and private sectors of the economy established that trade barriers are still a major challenge within the East African Community (EAC). The event, which was conducted at the Mutukula border crossing between Tanzania and Uganda, was jointly organised by the East African Business Council (EABC) and Trade Mark East Africa (TMA), and brought together some 50 participants. What with one thing leading to another, the dialogue definitively concluded that both tariff and non-tariff trade barriers (TTBs and NTBs) continue to be a real barrier not only to cross-border trade, but also to intra-regional investment flows within the six EAC member countries of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. Apparently, these negative developments are continuing in the regional economic integration bloc despite recent efforts by national governments – acting either singly or jointly in some cases – to alleviate the adverse situation, doing so mainly through policy and regulatory interventions. Generally speaking, trade barriers come in the forms of tariff or non-tariff measures that are imposed by national governments with the major purpose of restraining trade with other countries. More often than not, the barriers are imposed with be objective...

​​​​​​​THE latest statistics show that Tanzania-Rwanda’s total bilateral trade has hit $274.6m calling for action to further address barriers that are still in existence to boost the free movement of goods and people between the two countries, the East African Business Council (EABC) has stated. This was said last week during the public-private dialogue that gathered officials from the Ministry of EAC Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Trade and Industrialization, trade facilitation agencies, importers, exporters, transporters & freight forwarders, and women cross-border traders at Rusumo One-Stop Border Post. The dialogue was organized by The East Africa Business Council (EABC)-the regional apex body of Private Sector associations and corporates in East Africa and Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) to assess challenges being faced by cross-border traders. “Prior to Covid-19, Rusumo One-Stop Border Post used to clear 400 trucks daily,” The East African Business Council (EABC) CEO, John Bosco Kalisa said. Tanzania’s exports of goods to Rwanda have hit $269.6million while Rwanda’s exports to Tanzania have reached $5 million according to the International Trade Centre. Kalisa urged the United Republic of Tanzania to fast-track the use of national identity cards as a travel document to ease the movement of cross-border traders across the East African Community region. “Travellers and business people from Rwanda to Tanzania are required to have passports and laissez-passer as travel documents. Tanzania doesn’t accept national identity cards like other EAC members. This is still a barrier to the free movement of goods and people in the region,” he said,...

Summary The ambitious blueprint – which is a brainchild of the Tanzania Horticultural Association (Taha) – was launched during the Horticulture Business Forum and 15th Taha’s Annual General Meeting in Arusha at the weekend. Arusha. Tanzania has rolled out a new grand strategy that will see the value of horticultural exports ballooning to $1 billion annually by 2026. Netting the economy $779 million annually at the moment, horticulture strategically offers Tanzania a long-term potential to create decent jobs, generate windfall foreign exchange and boost the the country's poverty reduction reduction efforts. The ambitious blueprint – which is a brainchild of the Tanzania Horticultural Association (Taha) – was launched during the Horticulture Business Forum and 15th Taha’s Annual General Meeting in Arusha at the weekend. Gracing the event, Agriculture Minister Hussein Bashe directed his aides to work with the private sector to convene a national horticultural conference to deliberate the strategy - and consider adopting it. The minister underlined the horticulture industry as central to the country’s economy, livelihoods and poverty reduction, particularly for women and youth. The 45-page grand strategy seeks the joint efforts from public, private sectors and development partners to open up regional and international markets for horticulture in the coming five years. Mr Bashe told stakeholders that his eyes were now set to unlock the $133 million worth Chinese avocado market with 1.4 billion consumers, after the two key markets of India and South Africa were recently opened up to bolster bilateral trade ties and bring higher returns...

These include visual and performing arts, crafts, cultural festivals, photography, music, dance, film, fashion, video games, digital animation, publishing, architecture, and more. Africa’s Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is expected to be a boon for the creative sector and generate jobs for the youth. On 1 January 2021, trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) kicked off. The trade pact, which seeks to create a single market for goods and services and promote cross-border movement of capital and people, should boost intra-African trade — currently at only 18 per cent—and regional integration. It is also expected to be a boon for the creative sector. Key players in the creatives industry said as much when they met in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2019, even before the trade area launched. “We wanted to deconstruct the AfCFTA,” said Josh Nyapimbi, Executive Director of Nhimbe Trust, a pan-African creative civil society organization based in Zimbabwe, adding that the creative and cultural industries can “leverage the agreement to advance our economies.” Similarly, Wamkele Mene, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, has emphasized the need for youth involvement in cross-border trade through the creative industry and technology. He says that the active participation of young people in the free trade area could boost jobs creation and catalyze economic development. Africa’s creative sector is diverse and includes visual and performing arts, crafts, cultural festivals, paintings, sculptures, photography, publishing, music, dance, film, radio, design, fashion, video games, digital animation, architecture, and advertising, according to the UN Conference on...

EAC Secretariat Secretary-General Peter Mathuki has hailed the governments of the Republic of Rwanda and the Republic of Uganda for their efforts ahead of the reopening of the Gatuna-Katuna border post He said the reopening would strengthen bilateral ties between the two EAC Partner States, which will revitalise social, economic and political relations Mathuki added that the border would also promote peace and security across the region The EAC Secretariat has lauded Rwanda and Uganda for their efforts to reopen the Gatuna-Katuna border post on 31st January 2022. In a statement seen by The Exchange Africa, EAC Secretary General Peter Mathuki hailed the move terming it as a boost to regional integration. The move, he added, would strengthen bilateral ties between the two EAC Partner States, which will revitalise social, economic and political relations. “Reopening this strategic trade route is in line with the EAC Common Market Protocol and will speed up economic and social development of the Partner States by reviving the free movement of goods, persons, capital and labour,” said Mathuki. The Secretary-General also observed that the reopening of the border would also promote peace and security across the region. “The move reflects the deep commitment and existing goodwill among the EAC Heads of State to widen and deepen cooperation in the bloc, particularly as the Community expands with the expected entry of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” he said. According to Mathuki, the community has been committed to supporting initiatives that promote regional integration within East Africa....

Plans to decongest Kenya-Uganda border gears up – Commissioner THE East African Business Council (EABC) has been assured that the backlog of trucks at Malaba One-Stop-Border Post (OSBP) will be cleared and normalcy has been return by yesterday (Wednesday). Uganda Revenue Authority Commissioner of Customs, Abel Kagumire made the assurance when speaking at the EABC-TMA public-private dialogue at Malaba OSBP. He stated that the backlog of 4000 trucks has been reduced to 2500 trucks and the traffic queue has been reduced from 40KM to 25KMs following the implementation of the resolutions for the bilateral meeting between the Ministers of Works and Transport of the Republics of Uganda and Kenya held on Saturday. EABC CEO John Bosco Kalisa said: “In future solution to NTBs should be derived without waiting for Ministerial and Head of State decisions.” He called for the formation of Responsive Border Committee to quickly resolve future trade bottlenecks and NTBs to reduce the cost of doing border-crossing trade. The EABC boss also called for a borderless East Africa for free flow of cargo. He further urged for closer collaboration among transporters, importers, exporters, cross-border traders, customs, immigration and other trade facilitation agencies on both sides of Uganda and Kenya. Matia Etedu from the Ministry of EAC Affairs Uganda appreciated and called more public private dialogue to facilitate cross border trade in region and beyond as the EAC bloc will soon commence trading under African Continental Free Trade Area. Charles Omusana, Principal Economist (Investment & Private Sector Promotion), EAC...

Trade education is vital to further grow exports between the UK and Africa The Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT) today announced a new investment in Africa with the opening of its first international office in Nairobi, Kenya. Building on the Kenya-UK Economic Partnership Agreement the IOE&IT is developing training, education and consultancy offerings for the entire African continent – unique and specific to Africa-world trade and intra-African trade. The opening of the office builds on a successful 2021 in Africa where the IOE&IT delivered qualifications in Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria. The Institute has worked with the International Trade Centres, along with the Ghana Export Promotion Authority and Nigerian Export Promotion Council, as well as developing a Trade and Information Pipeline (TLIP) with TradeMark Africa. UK exports to Kenya in 2021 were worth £530 million and imports from Kenya totalled £579 million. The TLIP project aims to increase trade for both sides and will help create greater visibility within supply chains and simplify the facilitation of trade between the UK and Kenya. The overall aim of the TLIP initiative is to reduce logistical time constraints for businesses by around 40%, reduce the cost of compliance by 20% – potentially worth an initial saving of up to £36m to UK Exporters. Marco Forgione, director general of the Institute of Export & International Trade “We are delighted to be opening our first office outside the UK in Kenya. It is a sign of how important we believe our work in Africa...