Tanzania is beginning to mark strides as a major buyer of Kenyan goods making orders worth Sh15.91 billion in the first seven months to July, even before President Uhuru Kenyatta's visit. Central Bank' data show that this represents an 11.48 per cent increase compared to Sh14.27 billion value of goods imported in seven months to July 2018. In 2018, the neighbouring country bought goods worth Sh29.93 billion in items including plastics, iron and steel, machinery, animal and vegetable fats electrical equipment and vehicles among others. At the time, imports from Tanzania to Kenya were registered at Sh34.52 billion. Cereals, wastes of the food industry, paper and paper board, beverages, spirits and vinegar are among goods that Kenya imports from Tanzania. Kenya has been gearing to improve trade with the country whose relations has been tensed over the years due to a high number of tariff and non-tariff barriers. In 2018, Tanzania imposed a 25 per cent import duty on Kenyan confectionery, including juice, ice cream, chocolate, sweets and chewing gums, claiming Kenya had used zero-rated industrial sugar imports to produce them. The country still remains opposed to the issuance of work permits to Kenyan nationals looking to work in around its borders. The trading imbalance in favour of Tanzania is set to reduce if bilateral talks between the nations is anything to go by. The countries held bilateral meetings in Arusha, in April, to resolve the trade issues and barriers affecting the movement of goods across the borders including rules of origin for some products...

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has signed an unfunded $250-million (Shs920bn) Risk Participation Agreement (RPA) facility with ABSA – a pan-Africa financial institution with a solid presence in 12 African countries. The 3-year RPA facility was signed November 12, on the sidelines of the Africa Investment Form through its trade finance operations. Under this 3-year RPA facility, the Bank and ABSA will share default risk on a portfolio of eligible trade transactions originated by African Issuing Banks (IBs) and confirmed by ABSA. Leveraging the Bank’s AAA rating, ABSA will underwrite trade transactions issued by African issuing banks across key sectors like agriculture, energy, and light-manufacturing with a special focus on Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME’s)  in fragile and low-income African countries. The Bank’s commitment under the RPA is to assume up to 50% (and 75% in special cases) of every underlying transaction issued by the IBs, while ABSA will confirm such a transaction and bear not less than 50% of its underlying risk. Working with strategic partners like ABSA, the Bank’s  trade finance operations aim to facilitate inter and intra Africa trade by reducing the trade financing gap on the continent. Since 2013, the Bank’s RPA program has supported over 16 issuing banks with about US$650 million  limits in Southern Africa alone, with special focus on SMEs and local corporates in manufacturing, agribusiness, import/export and energy sectors. In the same period, the program supported over $4billion in trade volumes across Africa, with $938 million of that being intra-Africa trade....

For the first time, Africans need visas to travel to less than half of other African countries, the report finds. A record 87% of African countries either improved or maintained their score, an increase of 9 points from 2018. The biggest improvements were made by Ethiopia, which moved up 32 places to join the top 20 in terms of openness, mirroring the country’s progress in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index. Senegal’s move to introduce visas on arrival for some African countries and removing visas required before travel pushed it up into the top 10. Yet the freedom of movement that will be needed to make the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) a success remains a work in progress. Africa’s infrastructure deficit was a central theme at the AIF, which highlighted the need to attract investment into large-scale railway and road projects. Such projects will both require and further stimulate the free movement of people. Only two African countries, Seychelles and Benin, offer visa-free access to all Africans. Higher income African countries are among the laggards. Seven out of eight of Africa’s upper-middle income economies have low visa openness scores, the report finds. Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Cameroon remain near the bottom of the table. Trust deficit The absence of the protocol for free movement of persons was a notable omission from the agenda at the African Union Summit in Niger in July, according to a paper by Mehari Taddele Maru of the Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute in Florence. The AfCFTA was launched at...

With its first dry port, Rwanda is looking to create a gateway of trade to Kenya, Tanzania, and beyond, sparking interregional trade across the continent. Source: Marketplace Africa

First international digital road freight platform to be launched in the continent; Provides shippers and carriers a one-stop platform for road freight connections for domestic shipments within South Africa and international movements to several neighbouring countries; Further expansion to connect shippers and carriers within Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is planned for early 2020. Digital freight forwarder Saloodo! a subsidiary of DHL Global Forwarding, the leading international provider of air, sea and road freight services, today launched its digital logistics platform for shippers and transport providers in South Africa, bringing the first digital road freight solution to the region. An efficient road freight network is a key conduit of trade within a geographically wide-spread country such as South Africa but also with 16 landlocked countries within Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, much of the region’s road freight operations remain fragmented and highly traditional, missing out on the visibility, efficiency and security that logistics technology offers. “Digital transformation is a top priority for the industry and given the demographics, we expect demand for digital transformation to be driven by emerging markets globally,” said Tobias Maier, CEO of Saloodo! Middle East and Africa. “Africa is the world’s youngest continent with 60% of the continent below 25. This is a dynamic generation of digitally-minded young adults, demanding smart, digital solutions both on the business and home front.” With South Africa as its launch pad into Sub-Saharan Africa, Saloodo! is the first digital logistics platform available in the region that offers a single, simple and reliable interface...

AFRICAN Development Bank (AfDB) will advise the government on financial mechanism for construction of phase four of the standard gauge railway from Isaka in Shinyanga Region to Kigali, Rwanda. The railway could possibly be extended to Burundi and DR Congo, according to Finance and Planning Minister Dr Phillip Mpango. Minister Mpango told the ‘Daily News’ on the sidelines of the Africa Investment Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa last week that the bank would advise the government on the best possible way to finance construction of the as other important issues on the railway line that will extend to three other countries. “AfDB will advise us on the financial mechanism. They are ready to use their financial leverage to secure funds for the project,” said the minister who had represented President John Magufuli in the investment forum billed a game changer to tilt the flow of investments to Africa. Tanzania is constructing a standard gauge railway which will eventually link the Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam with Mwanza on Lake Victoria and Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika as well as neighbouring Rwanda and Burundi. The first 202 kilometres from Dar es Salaam to Moro-goro, constructed by Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi in partnership with Portuguese firm Mota-Engil Africais, are in final stages and are expected for launch early next year Funding for the second phase from Morogoro to Makutupora in Singida Region is expected before the end of the month, according to the minister. He had earlier told the `Daily News’...

Growing momentum behind regional integration, economic reforms, technological advances and infrastructure development are among the key factors fuelling business growth in sub-Sahara Africa, said a new whitepaper released by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The report, entitled “Promise and Perils: Scaling up businesses in sub-Sahara Africa”, was issued ahead of GBF Africa 2019 in Dubai. The findings shed light on the current business climate in sub-Sahara Africa and examined attractive business prospects offering the most potential for investors in the UAE and wider GCC region. Key growth drivers The report highlighted the importance of regional integration initiatives such as the East Africa Economic Community, Single African Air Transport Market and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in removing trade barriers and driving business exchange. The AfCFTA is expected to liberalising trade and investment policies and ease easing operational challenges related to international money transfers and payments. Combined, these allow African SMEs to expand operations across markets, creating attractive opportunities for investors too. Expanding telecommunications networks are facilitating the growth of internet connectivity, mobile money and new digital services that build on it. Mobile money, which facilitates money transfers and payments, is also a growth enabler as it moves into business lending. Improved internet connectivity is expected to drive the next wave of technological innovation, enabling companies to develop new, digital services for consumers on the continent. By 2025, 3G mobile network coverage is expected to account for 60% of the mobile...

The value of intra-trade among East African Community partner states increased to $5.98 billion in 2018 from $5.46 billion in 2017, accounting for a 9.4 per cent growth. This comes as member countries opted to trade with each other in the wake of falling demand for the region’s agricultural products in the US and the rest of the world. The East African Community Trade and Investment Report (2018) shows that all EAC member states save for Burundi recorded growth in trade with their regional counterparts. The report prepared by the EAC Secretariat shows that Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan and Kenya’s combined exports to the EAC and Southern African Development Community regions amounted to $3.1 billion and $1.9 billion in 2018 respectively. This shows, however, the growth in intra-EAC trade slowed down to 9.4 per cent last year compared with 24.8 per cent in 2017. The positive trend signals the importance of intra-EAC trade that has been stifled by persistent trade disputes on rules of origin, non-tariff barriers, inadequate value addition to the agricultural sector and competition from other producers and regional blocs that benefit from export subsidies. In 2015 and 2016, intra-EAC trade was in the negative territory. Burundi’s total trade with other EAC partner states fell by 11 per cent to $150.9 million in 2018, from $162.6 million in 2017. Kenya’s total trade with EAC partner states increased by 4.7 per cent to $1.95 billion in 2018 from $1.86 billion in 2017, mainly on account of increased total trade...

African countries have been urged to carefully analyze global lessons and think beyond short-termism so as to effectively tap into the benefits offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement. The latest call was made by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), an African non-profit organization, as it stressed that "global lessons show that for AfCFTA to work, the continent's leaders must think beyond short-term election cycles." The ISS, in its latest publication on Thursday entitled "Can African leaders put free trade above nationalism?" also noted that the signing of the continental free trade pact "couldn't have come at a better time for the continent," emphasizing some of the latest developments in the global trade relations. According to the institute, the collective effort required to get 54 of the 55 African Union (AU) member countries to sign the AfCFTA, "particularly on a continent divided by disparate political agendas, short-termism and sporadic diplomatic standoffs, shouldn't be underestimated." "While the agreement is lauded as an African solution to African problems, it is worth remembering the pitfalls of those who've traveled a similar journey to avoid the same mistakes. This is even more important as trade agreements worldwide show signs of unraveling," the ISS said. Noting that trade relations in Europe were forged over decades following World War II to counteract the factors that caused the war, and collaborate for sustained economic growth and prosperity. Reaching agreement was an arduous process, the ISS stressed that "Africa seeks the same outcome in...

THE National Assembly yesterday approved the country's full entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO), ending almost half a century of Tanzania’s efforts to join the global trading group. A protocol amending the Marrakesh agreement that establishes WTO was ratified here, bringing to 147 the total number of members out of 164 states that had signed the agreement. Tanzania and Burundi are the only East African nations that had not fully subscribed to the pact that was domestically signed in September 1994. The deal now allows Tanzania to benefit from ‘duty free, quota free" arrangement or a waiver to minor customs charges imposed by industrial countries to developing or least developed countries. Industry and Trade Minister Innocent Bashungwa explained that the new protocol will lower the costs of doing business globally and increase the volumes of international trade. Released details of the protocol immediately after the house endorsement indicated that the country ought to benefit by fostering the implementation of the Blueprint for regulatory reforms to improve the business environment, easy the level of doing business and attract investors. The document emphasises transparency and accountability and is likely to continue lowering corruption cases. "The protocol recommends freedom of transit goods. It now eliminates unfriendly barriers to transit goods within states," said Minister Bashungwa. The new arrangement is not new from the East African Single Customs Territory that requires payment of customs duties on destination model. This means Tanzania won't need to change its custom systems. The protocol approval considered the...