The company was represented at the Africa CEO Forum by its CEO of Africa Mr. Jerome Petit. Mr Petit told press that Bollore already has several partnership agreements with Chinese companies and intends to build even more relations. With more than 1,500 participants, this is the 7th Africa CEO Forum. It brought together to the East African nation international investors, sector experts, high-level policy makers and some of Africa’s top CEOs. The forum serves as a platform to deliberate investment topics and key challenges around Africa’s private sector led development. Bollere Transport & Logistics is a member of Bollore Group which deals in global supply chains and industrial projects among others. With its headquarters in Paris, France, the company operates across some 106 countries across the World with at least 46 of these based in African states. Since Bollore deals in logistics and related regulations all along global supply chains, it is only a strategic move to partner with China whose investment in African infrastructure grows every year. So far, Bollore has four partnership agreements with China’s Huawei, the shipping company COSCO, China’s Alibaba and the China Communications Construction Company. In fact, Bolloré Logistics was awarded by China’s Huawei two distinctive Awards, the Excellent Core Partner and the Best-Quality Logistics Service Award in 2017 at the Huawei Logistics Core Partner Convention in Shenzhen, China. Bolloré Logistics received the awards in recognition of its ‘excellence in managing Huawei’s international transportation and supply chain.’ Ancient Trade: China’s proposed Belt and Road Initiative...

The East African Community (EAC) appears to be reverting to its original membership of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The new EAC members, especially Rwanda, are a headache. Rwanda dared to shut down its border with Uganda. General Paul Kagame is turning Rwanda into an even more irrelevant and irrational entity in East African political economy. The problem begins with Kagame fantasying about Rwanda’s economic might. In his article published by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in 2013, Kagame boasted that Rwanda is “an economic lion.” Kagame further boasted: “There is a view that development is a marathon, not a sprint. We do not agree. Development is a marathon that must be run at a sprint. In our pursuit of progress, we have of course looked to East Asia’s so-called “tiger” economies for inspiration…So while being described as an “African tiger” is a welcome recognition of how far Rwanda has come, perhaps it isn’t quite right. After all, our continent has its own big cat. Step forward the new lions of Africa.” In reality, Kagame’s Rwanda does not compare to the original EAC members whether in terms of the size of their respective economies or their trade within the EAC. Let us analyze Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda in terms of the size of their respective economies or their trade within EAC. The data used here are from the World Bank, 2017. Rwandan trade figures for 2017 come from the National Bank of Rwanda, as indicated. Kenya ’s economy and trade within EAC Kenya is by...

Seven years in the making, the Continental Free Trade Area is almost established. A minimum of 22 states is needed to bring the trade bloc into force; only 21 African states have so far ratified the agreement. Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy, is still considering whether to join the club. The idea of an African common market has been circulating for decades and it was adopted at an African Union heads of state conference in 2012. On 21 March 2018, 49 of the African Union's 55 member states signed the agreement. A minimum of 22 countries need to ratify the accord before Africa's single market can finally be launched. The Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) will create an African common market worth $3 trillion where 1.2 billion people will be able to move freely. Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, one of the leaders spearheading the CFTA, once wrote that “in Africa, our biggest threats are also opportunities”. He was referring to Africa’s booming youth population. “In less than a generation, it is projected that Africa will have the world’s biggest workforce. That means 1.1 billion working-age Africans, which is more than China or India,” said Kagame at the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali. “We don’t have any time to waste to do what is necessary, so that this statistic becomes Africa’s greatest asset, rather than a burden for our continent and the world.” Intra-African trade Trade among African countries is more costly than with Asia. According to Carlos Lopes, professor at the University of Cape...

Africa still lags behind the rest of the world in its digital transformation, and in spite of a growing number of innovative solutions, the ongoing lack of adequate infrastructure and connectivity is preventing the continent from realising its true economic potential. The best and fastest way to overcome these barriers, may lie in heightened cooperation between countries and their various regulators. This is according to James Claude, CEO of Global Voice Group (GVG) (www.GlobalVoiceGroup.com) – a provider of IT solutions to governments and regulatory authorities – who says that while many countries in Africa are individually working to increase their infrastructure and digital capabilities, the most effective solution will be to approach these challenges from a regional perspective. While attending the 5thCrans Montana Forum in Dakhla, Morocco in March of this year, Claude noted that African governments have a crucial role to play in taking the continent to the next stage in its digital evolution. “Businesses, universities and young entrepreneurs are increasingly contributing to the digital economy and fostering innovation in Africa. Governments now need to work towards helping these private sector players to grow their solutions more rapidly and affect real change on the continent. This will require harmonising regulations that allow businesses and services to expand beyond country borders.” Africa’s potential as a global leader in the world’s digital economy grows significantly with each passing year. Africa’s population is increasing exponentially, and is expected to reach between 1.379 billion and 1.486 billion by 2025. In addition to this,...

Rwandan President Paul Kagame said while opening the Africa CEO Forum at the Kigali Convention Center in Rwanda that 21 countries had ratified the Continental Free Trade Area. Ethiopia last week took the agreement through Parliament, becoming the 21st country to do so. For the trade deal that would create a market of $3 trillion and a market of 1.2 billion people with no tariff and border restrictions to be enforceable, 22 countries are required to ratify. The deal was negotiated over two years before being signed in Kigali last year. In panel discussions, President Kagame said political will was key to resolving challenges that confront regional economic groups. ‘CFTA does not solve problems people have to make it work,” the President said in reaction to suggestions that countries were hesitant to ratify because past experiences with integration such as dumping. “What is important is that the benefits of other arrangements and CFTA are not being questioned. It’s the only way to maximize on benefits such as job creation for the continent. Political will must come first as it allows things that must work to work,” President Kagame said. The seventh edition of The Africa CEO Forum opened with four Presidents and three other heads of government fervently calling for leading decision makers to help realize the ambition of CFTA. More than 1800 business and political leaders are in attendance. They are led by President Kagame, Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde, Democratic republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and Togo President...

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AFTA) is here and will formally be launched at the next summit of the African Union this July in Niamey in Niger. This is one of the biggest achievements and landmarks of all time to come out of Africa. Big and small economies including South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, Namibia and Eswatini, are on board. Fifty-two of the 55 African countries have already signed the AFTA. Through sheer political drive, and against all odds, African political leaders have in a short period of time, of just over 12 months, brought into force the largest Free Trade Area in modern history. Africa has achieved the unthinkable. Only way back in 1995 did the world see a trade liberalization agreement on this scale when the World Trade Organization was formed, following which a backlash against unabated economic liberalism has been a significant force in the international economic order. The winning strategy has been proactive leadership by Africa’s Heads of State and Government. At the biannual summits, progress reports have been presented, for review of progress against set targets and timelines, and corrective action taken through clear guidance and instructions. They have reached out to each other to compare notes and mobilize their constituencies and negotiators to the effort. The dedicated champion for AFTA, President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger, has been tireless in reaching out to his colleague Heads of State and Government, the African Union Commission and other stakeholders, and made an indelible...

Players in the transport sector have started mapping out black spot areas along the Northern Corridor in a bid to end road carnage. Ten “priority black spots” were identified in the five-day exercise conducted by the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Co-ordination Authority (NCTTCA), Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), Kenya Transporters Association (KTA) and the Traffic Police Department. The exercise began along the Northern Corridor routes from Mombasa on March 4 and ended in Kisumu on March 9, 2019, covering a total of 845 kilometres. The 2015 Global Road Safety Status Report by the World Health Organisation shows that Kenyan roads are amongst the most dangerous in the world, claiming an average of 29.1 lives per 100,000 people. The report also revealed that road crashes are among the top ten killers and account for between 45 and 60 percent of all admissions to surgical wards that cost the country up to 5 percent of GDP. NCTTCA said the key objective for the exercise was to “confirm the existence of priority black spots and come up with a major injury and fatalities based black spot analysis”. The project was also meant to prepare guidelines on black spots management along the Northern Corridor route in Kenya and help in funds mobilisation in order to address safety concerns at the black spots. NCTTCA executive secretary Omae Nyarandi told Shipping & Logistics that the aim of the survey was to identify, diagnose and address issues that cause accidents,...

The proposed African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA), currently being negotiated by 55 African countries, is a positive inter-regional initiative, one that is intended by its architects to be the largest free trade zone in the world, with a population of approximately 1.2-billion and a combined GDP of $2.5-trillion. The effort to unite the economies of Africa into a single free-trade agreement began at the 18th ordinary session of the assembly of the African Union (AU) heads of state and government, held in January 2012 in Addis Ababa. The participants agreed to progressively eliminate barriers to trade, services, intellectual property and investment in the context of an ACFTA. Such a pact would build on existing sub-regional and bilateral arrangements and help create a more integrated market in the continent. Since its signing in March 2018, the agreement and its associated protocols and annexes have been open for country-level ratification. For the treaty to enter into force, a minimum of 22 countries must ratify it. Ratification processes vary by country, but generally include approval by the legislative body and consent by the executive branch of the country. It is important for African countries to recognise that signing a trade pact is not the same as achieving free trade. To be sure, constructing a free-trade area (FTA) linking some of the middle-income and poorest countries, and largest and smallest countries in Africa, is a daunting task. Given the diversity of incomes, factor endowments and comparative advantages of these nations raises the question...

The United Kingdom is working to modify its trade and investment approach to African countries, Emma Wade-Smith, the UK Trade Commissioner for Africa has said. In an exclusive interview, the envoy told The New Times on the sidelines of the on-going Africa CEOs Forum that her country has been engaging African countries on trade and investment for the past two years. Throughout the process, Wade-Smith said, the UK has been highlighting its stance in Africa and reinvigorating the approach towards investing and trading with the continent, especially as it prepares to leave European Union (EU). The UK is currently in the process to divorce from the EU, despite a stalemate on the form of the separation that has kept the process in balance over two years after British people, through a referendum, voted to leave the bloc. “We want to focus increasingly on supporting income development and market access, particularly capital markets and other financial markets, which I know are key drivers for job creation and economic development,” she noted. Britain targets to become the largest investor in Africa, she said. UK trade investment in Africa currently stands at a little over 30 billion pounds, which makes it the second largest investor in Africa. “We have an ambition to become the largest G7 investor in Africa over the next three to four years. I am ambitious for what we can do and I see there are opportunities across a whole range of sectors,” she said. Last year, British Prime Minister Theresa May...

South Sudan said Tuesday it has reached an agreement with Chinese firm Shandong Hi-Speed Group Co., Ltd (SDHS) to embark on construction of major highways linking the capital Juba to the remote countryside. Rebecca Joshua Okwaci, minister of roads and bridges said the move will boost peace and trade besides helping connect people across the country that have suffered a five-year-long conflict. "Together we are celebrating the signing of the agreement witnessed by the President (Salva Kiir). The President has encouraged us with a policy of oil for development for which we are now embarking on the first ever construction of one of the roads in South Sudan that will be followed by other roads," she told journalists in Juba during inspection of the road equipment. Okwaci disclosed the first phase will soon start with construction of the Juba-Terekeka-Yirol to Rumbek road. "We believe that roads are peace, roads are stability, trade, connectivity of the people and country," added Okwaci. She lauded the Chinese government for supporting infrastructure development in the youngest nation which currently has only one major tarmacked highway, the Juba-Nimule, a gateway to Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa. Li Chao, SDHS representative in South Sudan, lauded the South Sudanese government for trusting the company with the major road construction project. "Yesterday (Monday) we signed a multi-party agreement and contract agreement with ministry of roads, petroleum and finance. So we extend our great gratitude to the people of South Sudan and the trust given by the government of...