In Summary According to KenTrade CEO Amos Wangora, the agency expects to have all government agencies migrate to the upgraded platform by March next year. The system has so far helped improve trade facilitation processes and procedures , with autotation increasing from 14 per cent to to 92 per cent. The government wants to have all trade related agencies offer services on the Kenya National Electronic Single Window System for faster facilitation. The system which was rolled out eight years ago by the Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTarde) is currently being upgraded with over 41 stakeholder organisations including about 20 state agencies on board. Other users include 38 active insurance companies, 36 banks, 1,529 clearing agents, 46 shipping agents and shipping companies, 29 container freight stations and five cargo handling companies, all set to migrate. Some of the key agencies that have been on the platform include Kenya Ports Authority, KRA, Kenya Bureau of Standards and port health. According to KenTrade CEO Amos Wangora, the agency expects to have all government agencies migrate to the upgraded platform by March next year. The system has so far helped improve trade facilitation processes and procedures , with autotation increasing from 14 per cent to to 92 per cent. It has increased revenue yield by Sh3.44 billion with reduction in cargo clearance documentation approval time from an average of 12 days in 2013 to two days, resulting in savings along the supply chain of an estimated Sh2 billion per year. “The the system...

The Africa Investment Forum held a roundtable event to preview two agribusiness deals worth nearly $400 million as part of the lead-in to its upcoming 2021 Market Days. The investment opportunities, drawn from the Africa Investment Forum’s pipeline, will be presented in full during the Market Days, to be held from December 1-3 in Abidjan. The virtual roundtable, organized by the Atlantic Council, took place on Thursday 7 October, 2021. During the roundtable, members of the AIF team presented an outline of the deals to investors. The first one, which requires $345 million in capital, entails construction and operation of a food market that will serve about 15 million people in an area projected to be Africa’s largest food exchange zone. It would also serve as a marketplace where farmers bring in produce to sell to potential customers at retail or wholesale prices. As well as farmers, the food market will provide livelihood opportunities for fishers, meat and dairy producers and wholesalers. The second showcased deal involves the scaling up of a dairy milk production and packaging company in a Southern African Development Community country. The project sponsors have a good operational record in the agriculture sector, and they have secured an off-take agreement with a major international food and beverage company for the milk production. The deal, valued at $50.2 million, has strategic value for the national government, and provides an opportunity for local production of a commodity that is typically imported. There is also potential for job creation...

What you need to know: When Covid-19 hit in March last year, Elegu was the epicentre of the virus and at least 10 truck drivers would be reported to have tested positive for Covid-19. Long-distance truck drivers travelling to and from South Sudan will be subjected to Covid-19 jabs at Elegu border in Amuru District. Mr Ndungu Omongo, the executive director of Uganda Professional Drivers Network, told Daily Monitor at the weekend that the move is aimed at containing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We want all long route truck drivers to get vaccinated because they are vulnerable to contracting Covid-19 as they ply different routes from one border to another,” Mr Omongo said. Mr Omongo also said they are working with the Health ministry to sensitise truck drivers. Recently, the leadership of truck drivers launched a 15-day campaign to sensitise its members on vaccinations. The initiative brings together other bodies such as the National Logistics Platform under the Private Sector Foundation, Trademark East Africa, Regional Lorry Drivers, and Transporters Association, among others. More than 600 trucks cross from Uganda to South Sudan through Elegu daily. Mr Bryon Kinene, the chairman of National Logistic Platform, said the truck drivers operate in a risky environment. “Today, when you cross to South Sudan, everything is normal and no SOPs are being implemented, this is a serious problem for us who move across countries and we saw how truck drivers were the source of the virus in the first wave,” Mr Kinene...

Construction of a $3.5 mill cruise ship terminal at Mombasa is due to be completed in August next year. Kenyan Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary, Najib Balala (pictured) told local media that the terminal will be completed in time for the cruise season in November. The cruise ship terminal is being constructed with the help a funding from Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Trade Mark East Africa. According to Balala, Kenya is increasingly becoming attractive to cruise ships. For example, Oceania Cruises’ ‘Nautica’ will arrive at Mombasa in December, with about 700 visitors. “We have seen good interest by cruise liners attracted to Mombasa port. Kenya has been eyeing cruise tourism growth after the segment improved significantly in the last two years with thousands of visitors arriving in the country by sea,” Balala reportedly said. The modern facility, which began construction in 2016, will feature an arrival and departure areas for passengers, a passenger lounge, an immigration office, reception counters for cruise operators, restaurants and souvenir shops. “The cruise ship is good for the hospitality business. We will get many international tourists and attract big ships. We should create awareness on cruise ship tourism so that Kenyans can tap into that business,” added Balala. Read original article

Somaliland Quality Control Commission (SQCC) launched 16 quality Standards of the most traded goods with the aim of supporting local industries tap into regional markets. The 16 standards are among the first for the country and cover the following sectors: Oils Seeds, Edible Fats and Oils, Cereals, and pulses; Livestock and livestock products; and beverages. TradeMark Africa (TMA) provided support to SQCC for the development and harmonization, adoption, and dissemination of conformity assessment product standards for the priority sectors with the potential to be traded within the Eastern Africa region. The project was funded by UKAID’s Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) and technical assistance provided by British Standards Institution (BSI). In the absence of harmonized standards, enterprises face challenges while exporting and accessing markets due to the technical product requirements of the local or destination market. Such requirements include the need for goods to comply with quality, health and safety, and sustainability standards as well as the associated conformity assessment procedures. Failure to adhere to these technical requirements results to higher transaction costs, longer time to access export markets, and loss of economic opportunities. Somaliland’s adoption of the 16 standards, will help overcome some of these challenges. It is also timely as the newly enforced Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides a platform for the liberalization of the movement of goods and services within the AfCFTA framework; offering opportunities for enterprises that comply with technical regulations, voluntary standards, and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures. Intentional commitment by businesses to continuous improvement...

THE government has commended horticultural champion TAHA and UNDP for setting up a pioneer ultra-modern National centre of excellence for horticulture, a massive boost to the high-flying sector. The state-of-the-art national centre of excellence for horticulture is part of TAHA, UNDP, Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) TRIAS, Ricolto among other key players’ grand strategies to unlock the multimillion-dollar industry. Currently, horticulture earns the economy $779 million (1.8tri/-) annually, up from $100 million (230.3bn/-) in 2004, making the industry a nascent venture to watch in terms of creating jobs, wealth, and health. Inaugurating the Tengeru horticulture farmer’s services centre of excellence (CoE) in Arumeru District in the Arusha region, Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Mr Hussein Bashe poured praises to TAHA and UNDP for truly complimenting the government’s efforts in building key infrastructures critical to unleashing the potential of the agriculture sector. “I take this opportunity to congratulate TAHA, UNDP and urge development partners to emulate the spirit to enable the farmers meet the market requirements,” Mr Bashe explained. He asked TAHA and UNDP to ensure that the centre is equipped with hi-end lab technologies so that extensive research could be carried out for producing high-yielding varieties of fruits and vegetables. “This Centre of excellence must have high tech poly-house for vegetable nursery and a high-tech nursery for fruits to help farmers to maximize their profit” Mr Bashe noted. TAHA Group CEO, Dr Jacqueline Mkindi said the centre also has a mobile cold refrigerator, the first facility of its kind in the...

In Summary Under the deal, the corporation is set to improve its digital services through enhanced internal digital capacities. As part of the partnership, the corporation intends to increase its capacity to process 10,000 packages daily. Posta has sealed a Sh72million agreement with TradeMark Africa that is set to revolutionise its e-commerce operations locally and regionally. Under the deal, the corporation is set to improve its digital services through enhanced internal digital capacities. It will also benefit from improved collaboration with external, both regional and global actors, in the e-commerce space. Dan Kagwe, the Postmaster General and CEO of Posta said the partnership was a historical moment for the institution, as TMA becomes one of its partners. “It is a great beginning that will open doors for Posta to work with diverse stakeholders and access the potential that exists in the East African region,” said Kagwe. Notably, the country and region at large have over time experienced a rapid shift from traditional mail, money order, and stamp sales to the growth of e-commerce and packages below 10kgs that are relatable to SMEs. Anataria Uwamariya, the Director Business Competitiveness at TMA said Posta is an ideal partner to enhance the logistical nature of their interventions to enhance e-commerce ecosystems across the region, especially through its last mile delivery capabilities. The lucrative deal funded under the improved business competitiveness strategic objective of TMA’s Export Capability programme, seeks to facilitate increased trade capacity of targeted businesses through increased use of technology to boost regional trade and linking businesses to international markets. Against the...

This proposal is among resolutions of the roundtable meeting for chief executive officers of apex national private sector associations convened by the East African Business Council (EABC) on Tuesday in Nairobi. EABC CEO John-Bosco Kalisa said that an EAC COVID-19 vaccination certificate would enable mutual recognition and elimination of current transaction costs of COVID-19 testing and boost intra-EAC trade, travel and tourism. He commended high-level bilateral engagements reached by EAC Heads of State for resolving non-tariff barriers (NTBs), as the Kenya-Tanzania bilateral engagement has resolved 72 NTBs. Amending NTBs legislation to include sanctions and clear timelines to resolve existing NTBs was equally necessary, he stated.. Carole Kariuki, CEO of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) said that KEPSA rolled out a COVID-19 vaccination drive for companies and EABC has now agreed to undertake similar drives across the EAC partner states. Closer private sector collaboration in marketing and boosting the competitiveness of ‘Made in East Africa’ products to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) market was also discussed, she stated. EABC chairman Nick Nesbitt said the EAC bloc is the most integrated regional economic community in Africa, and would be consolidated by the vaccine roll-out strategy for the region. Francis Kisirinya, acting CEO for the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda (PSFU) called for deeper public-private dialogue within countries and at the regional level to ensure that policies are increasingly business-centered. Nshimirimana Denis, secretary general of the Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burundi (CFCIB) urged support for ‘Buy East...

RWANDA – The National Agriculture Export Board (NAEB) of Rwanda has officially launched the operations of its newly acquired modern coffee sorting and grading equipment worth US$1.15 million. Through the TradeMark Africa (TMA), USAID funded the procurement, delivery, installation, and operationalization of the coffee sorting and grading machines worth US$1.159 million. While the Kingdom of the Netherlands provided funding for coffee sorting tables worth US$ 217,000 under the regional TMA Safe Trade Emergency Facility. According to the NAEB Chief Financial Officer, Andre Ndikumana, “The equipment will considerably expedite operations. It is expected to reduce the costs incurred in manual sorting, improve the quality of the coffee, and enable Rwanda to better compete in international markets efficiently. ADVERT “This increased capacity will also greatly benefit the 32 coffee producer co-operatives that we serve.” In addition, farmers are expected to collect higher premium on their coffee as quality increases. One of the ways to achieve this is to remove barriers to trade in Eastern and Southern Africa and improve the competitiveness in the private sector, as expressed by TMA Country Director, Patience Mutesi. “One of the barriers is that it used to take about twelve days to fill a 40-foot container with coffee. With this machine, sorting will take less than a day,” she said. The new coffee grading and sorting equipment falls under TMA’s program to support Rwanda in meeting international Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Standards (SPS) of its agricultural produce to be able to access high-yielding international markets. With faster operations and improved...

At a time when the world has been shaken and businesses have been worst hit, it is now clear that future-proof establishments must adopt innovative practices to stay resilient.  Speaking during the World Trade Organization (WTO) Public Forum is driven by TradeMark Africa, Bidco Africa’s Group Director – Chris Diaz emphasized the need for collective responsibility bringing together the public and private sector players to realize the alignment and seamless operations of trade through digital technologies. “The East African region is an entrepreneurial hub and with the private sector’s contribution of more than 60% of the GDP, the economic growth potential steered by SMEs and MSMEs is massive in job creation. Adopting digitalization is at the centre stage to realizing this great vision of our motherland,” said Mr Diaz.  Bidco Africa’s Group Director – Chris Diaz Mr Diaz who is also a Director at the East African Business Council (EABC) lauded the WTO Director-General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for her leadership and championing joint Stakeholder Engagement of players across the Eastern Africa region which has seen up to 3% economic growth, in line with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) spirit. With the adoption in place and the resilience in trade, we will realize the free flow of goods and services, growth of trade and eventually globalization of markets. Together with the Trade Counsellor for Kenya European Union, KRA’s Deputy Commissioner for Customs and Border Control, the Chair at All-Party Parliamentary Group and the Trade Mark CEO, the forum emphasized the need to embrace...