Over 2,500 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Kenya have received training on expanding their digital presence courtesy of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA). The KEPSA E-commerce Booster Program was launched in February this year with a target of training 2,000 MSMEs. According to the Alliance, the enterprises have been trained on introduction to e-commerce, digital marketing, aftersales, content creation and management. Of the figure, 1300 businesses were on-boarded onto various ecommerce marketplaces to increase and diversify their revenue streams hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic. The MSMEs targeted by the program were struggling with their digital brand presence with majority of them reporting they were either unaware of missed opportunities or did not have a digital brand strategy. “As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause disruptions in global and regional value chains, it is clear that e-commerce is an important tool and solution for both businesses and consumers,” KEPSA said in a statement. The Alliance says it conducted the program owing to the fact that e-commerce can support small businesses in reducing their costs and effectively reaching their customers. E-commerce is also an economic driver for both domestic growth and international trade that makes economies more competitive. KEPSA reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic has occasioned a spike in business-to-consumers (B2C) online sales and an increase in Business-to-Business (B2B) e-commerce. According to the Alliance, the increase in B2C sales is particularly evident in online sales of medical supplies, household essentials and food products. As a result, attention has been...

Summary Kenyan vegetable and cut flower producers are set to access the British market more efficiently and cheaply. The UK, which voted to leave the 27-member economic bloc in 2016, formally left the bloc on January 31, 2020. TIP is the first digital trade corridor to be established between the UK and a developing country since the UK's exit from the EU. Kenyan vegetable and cut flower producers are set to access the British market more efficiently and cheaply, following a plan to eliminate paperwork in trade between the two countries with long-standing historical ties. The plan, which is still under discussion, is set to make Kenyan exports to the United Kingdom market more competitive, just seven months after the two countries signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPAs) in London in December 2020, ensuring continuity of their trade relations after the British government voted to exit the European Union (EU). The UK, which voted to leave the 27-member economic bloc in 2016, formally left the bloc on January 31, 2020, with a transitional period of up to December 31, 2020, to negotiate new trade agreements with countries it was trading with under the EU terms. The Kenya-UK EPA allows Kenyan products unfettered access to the British market, free of duty and quota restrictions. On Monday, July 26, Kenyan-based non-profit making organisation TradeMark Africa (TMA), and the UK-based Institute of Export and International Trade ((IOE&IT), signed a memorandum of understanding providing a framework for collaboration in the implementation of a digital...

The Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab today (27 July) welcomed Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to Mansion House in London to announce £132 million of new UK investment in Kenya. He also launched the Nairobi International Financial Centre, and its formal partnership with the City of London. At the start of a three-day visit to the UK to co-host the Global Education Summit with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, President Kenyatta witnessed the signing of a new memorandum of understanding between TheCityUK and the Nairobi International Financial Centre Authority, establishing a formal partnership, including closer collaboration with the London Stock Exchange. This will help to channel international investment into Kenya and the wider region, making sure firms and investors are able to make the most of trade and investment opportunities. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: This £132 million package of new UK-Kenya deals from the UK government and British firms will support investment in the region, including building new green affordable homes, connecting households to clean energy, and boosting manufacturing. This package of investments will create new jobs and unlock new opportunities for UK and Kenyan businesses by strengthening the relationship between Nairobi and the City of London. British insurer Prudential intends to be the first firm to set up in Nairobi’s new International Financial Centre, while Kenyan mining company Mayflower Gold announced plans to dual list its shares on both the London and Nairobi Stock Exchanges in a deal worth £14 million. Prudential PLC Chair Shriti Vadera said: Africa is an important...

TANZANIA has been handed the Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency (CCTTFA) chairmanship for one year after Rwanda’s term expired. Member states - Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda, unanimously approved Tanzania’s chairmanship. Receiving the mantle,the Minister for Works and Transport, Eng. Leonard Chamuriho Eng Chamuriho said his strategy would focus on looking at all types of transport prioritised in the infrastructures to reduce costs of transporting goods, delay and related logistic challenges traders face in the business. Handing over the chairmanship to Tanzania, Eng Chamuriho, during the 11th session of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Central Corridor held virtually to launch the institution’s five- year strategic plan (2021 - 2025), Rwanda’s Minister of Infrastructure, Ambassadors Claver Gatete said the CCTTFA has once come home in Tanzania, where it’s headquartered is Dar es Salaam. He said the institutional strategic plan for the next five years will be divided into five main sections that cover all modes of transport (water, railways, and roads) as well as the relevant infrastructure. “The first section manages water, rail and road transport infrastructure; the second section will focus on strengthening the transportation sector and increasing commercial competitiveness in the central corridor,” he said. He said the third component is to improve the policy and governance of institutions involved in the transportation sector, while the fourth part is issues of coordination, monitoring and communication within the central corridor institution. Part five is to move the central corridor into a value corridor...

The National Government in partnership with the County Government of Busia and Trademark East Africa (TMA) is constructing a Sh53 million Safe Trade Zone market at the Soko Posta grounds, Busia Municipality. The project is being constructed on a 1.5 acre piece of land donated by the County Government and will be done in three phases. Phase I and II will cost Sh30.6 million and sh22 million respectively .160 stall will be constructed. The market which will be constructed within a period of four months has various design features that will also cater for the needs of lactating mothers, with over 400 traders set to benefit. The Principal Secretary in the Ministry of East African Dr Kevit Desai said the project once complete will have the ability to increase intratrade which currently stands at 15 per cent within partner states. "The effects of Covid-19 pandemic has prompted the government and other development partners to establish safe trade market with a view of ensuring that we are able to do business under the International protocols of World Health Organization," he said. Speaking during the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of the market, Desai who was accompanied by Busia Deputy Governor Moses Mulomi and the TMA Country Director Ahmed Farah stressed that the market will restore confidence among women to do trade efficiently and productively. Mulomi commended efforts by the National Government and other development partners for their effort towards supporting traders in the County. "Governor Sospeter Ojaamong's administration is committed...

In Summary Expected to boost trade between Kenya and Ethiopia. Becomes the fifth OSBP for Kenya with other operational ones being Busia, Malaba, Namanga and Taveta. Trade between Kenya and Ethiopia has received a major boost with the operationalisation of the Moyale One-Stop Border Post . Operations commenced yesterday, and  border officials clearing traffic, cargo and persons from both Ethiopia and Kenya will now physically relocate and sit side by side on either side of the border. Under the One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) framework, clearance is done once and individuals or truckers need not get cleared on the other side of the border. The OSBP was commissioned in December 2020 by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, but had not come into operation. The move is expected to boost trade between the two neighbouring nations, as well as promoe regional and economic integration between the East African and Horn of Africa regions. Moyale is the only gazetted border crossing point between Ethiopia and Kenya. A fully functional OSBP is expected to reduce the border crossing time by at least 30 per cent, to enable faster movement of cargo and people. A baseline survey by TradeMark Africa (TMA) in 2017 indicates that it takes on average, 21 hours and 52 minutes (Kenya-Ethiopia) and 12.5 hours (Ethiopia-Kenya) for a cargo truck to cross the border. “ The establishment of the OSBP will have a significant role in improving cross border trade and free movement of people," said Mengistu Tefera, Ethiopia’s head of...

Kenya-Ethiopia Government officials met today and commenced Moyale One Stop Border Post (OSBP) operations, raising hopes to bolster trade and cooperation between the two nations Once operationalized, Moyale One-Stop Border Post will be the first of its kind in Ethiopia and the fifth for Kenya with other operational OSBPs being Busia, Malaba, Namanga and Taveta. The Governments with a grant from Africa Development Bank put up the physical infrastructure component, and with funding from the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through TradeMark Africa, supported  the Integrated Border Management component. The two components are the fundamentals that enable coordinated and efficient OSBP operations Addis Abeba – Moyale, June 08/2021 – Today marks the start of Moyale Border operating as a One Stop Border Post (OSBP), as the Government border regulatory officials from Kenya and Ethiopia came together to commence operations. This means that, the border regulatory officials clearing traffic, cargo and persons from both Ethiopia and Kenya will now physically relocate  and sit side by side on either side of the border, where they will undertake exit and entry formalities in a joint and/or sequenced manner. The officials conducted site visits and inspection of border facilities as part of the OSBP operations commencement process. The move follows the official launch of Moyale OSBP in December 2020, by H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and H.E. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia. This move is a step closer to achieving the goal of exponentially boosting trade between the two neighbouring...

Shipping lines and agents operating in Kenya will now be mandated to use the Maritime Single Window System as the country moves to comply with the International Maritime Organization rules. The system will be used to electronically prepare and submit vessel pre-arrival and pre-departure declarations to the government agencies at the Port of Mombasa. Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) has partnered with the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA in the implementation of the maritime single window system as an E-Maritime module of the Kenya TradeNet System, to comply with the International Maritime Organization Convention on Facilitation of Maritime Traffic known as FAL Convention. The country is among the 120 governments (member states) that have ratified the FAL Convention. The FAL Convention recommends the use of the “Single Window” concept in which the agencies and authorities involved exchange data via a single point of contact, in a move aimed at improving port services with reducing vessel delays expected to save traders from demurrage charges. This is a charge payable to the owner of a chartered ship on failure to load or discharge the ship within the time agreed. For instance in 2017, Kenya paid an average $23 million (Sh2.5 billion) as demurrage on oil imports alone. With the new system, it eases the process of vessel clearance for arrival and departure where shipping agents can share information almost immediately to numerous state agencies. They include KMA, Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya Ports Authority, State Department of Immigration, Port Health, National Environment Management Authority, Kenya Plant...

During the event, a real time live demonstration of driver registration and verification of EAC digital certificate at the borders Time: Zoom will be open from 12:00PM (EAT) on Tuesday 8th–September 2020 and event starts at 2.00PM. Join Zoom Meeting: Launch of EAC RECDT. Meeting ID: 834 8633 7113. Passcode: 506536  East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 8th September, 2020: ​The East Africa Community Secretariat and its Partner States will hold a virtual event to officially mark the roll out of the Regional Electronic Cargo and Driver Tracking System (RECDTS) from Malaba/Malaba the border between Uganda and Kenya and Mirama Hills / Kagitumba, the border between Uganda and Rwanda, today Tuesday  8th September, 2020 at 2PM. The tracking system provides a surveillance system to monitor long distance trucker’s crew and enable contact tracing. It allows Partner States to electronically share truck drivers’ COVID-19 test results; therefore, minimizing need for multiple COVID-19 tests in a single trip. Speaking ahead of the virtual launch, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sector, Hon Christophe Bazivamo said RECDTS is expected to support health related protocols and facilitate safe trade in the region. “The reliance on manual certificates and delayed test results at the borders has been the main reasons for long delays at border points”. The tracking system is expected to be used in all Partner States and will eventually be extended to EAC neighbouring countries, particularly Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) added, Hon Bazivamo He disclosed that the European Ambassador to Kenya H.E Simon Mordue is...

This year as the 2021-22 financial year starts, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) marks 30 years since its creation, as part of the 1991 reforms which were aimed at improving government revenue collection. The tax body with Edward Larbi Siaw as the first commissioner general, collected 113 billion Shillings which was 6.83% of GDP then, amounting to 11.2 trillion Shillings. But much as the revenue collections have since grown many times to 16.4 trillion as of 2018/2019 (and expected to hit 19 trillion this fiscal year), the ratio to GDP has been oscillating between 11 and 13% in the last one decade. This is also far below Uganda’s regional peers, Kenya and Rwanda whose revenue authorities have managed to collect revenues more than 16% of their respective GDP sizes. The ratio helps policy makers and lenders to the government to tell whether the revenues being raised from taxes by the country are good enough compared to the size of the economy. Mr Siaw, the Ghanaian tax expert was credited for a smooth nurturing of the authority that had just been formed from a revenue department under the ministry of finance. Under the direct supervision of the ministry, it was considered that the tax administration system was suffering from too much powers by the minister, high tax rates and a lot of bureaucracy among others. In 1997, Siaw was replaced by Elly Rwakakooko, a financial sector expert who had been chairman and managing director of Uganda Commercial Bank, which was later sold...