With three of the eight candidates to become the next leader of the World Trade Organization (WTO) coming from Africa, BBC Africa business editor Zawadi Mudibo looks at what difference having one of them at the helm would make for the continent. There is a growing feeling among African diplomats that someone from the continent should be at the helm of one of the world's top economic institutions. Whereas an American has always led the World Bank and a European has always been at the head of the International Monetary Fund, an African has never taken an equivalent position. But if one from Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Kenya's Amina Mohamed or Egypt's Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh emerges from the long selection process as the WTO's next director-general, the continent can feel that it is playing in the same league as the rest of the world. image captionGarment factories, like this one in Kenya, could benefit if trade opened up The WTO sets the rules for global trade and adjudicates in trade disputes between nations. It is also, according to its website, supposed to "open trade for the benefit of all". The Geneva-based organisation's ability to get global agreements of basic principles that every country signs up to has been hamstrung in recent years but the WTO leader has influence and a bully pulpit. The director-general attends G7 and G20 meeting and can broker disputes between world leaders. But is there more to be gained for the continent aside from the diplomatic profile? 'Trade...

For the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to see true prosperity, there is a need for stakeholders on the continent to devise digital solutions “designed by Africa and used by Africa”. This was the principal takeaway from the array of experts who shared thoughts at the maiden edition of the Africa Digital Conference, which had as its theme ‘The Digital Challenge: Africa’s Opportunity Under AfCFTA’. It was unanimously agreed that wholesale adoption of imported digital solutions, particularly those which take very little of the continent’s peculiar dynamics into consideration, would represent a lost opportunity for the continent to adequately take charge of its affairs and see some of its brightest persons miss out on designing home-grown solutions for Africa. According to the Minister for Communication and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, indigenous solutions are crucial for the success of cross-border trade and payment systems, as well as the delivery of equitable social services to people across socio-economic boundaries. Beyond digitalisation, she noted, there is also the need to systematically create opportunities for homegrown start-ups in the space. In a speech read on her behalf, she said: “I believe that if governments can support a vibrant computer hardware manufacturer in one country to supply various schools across the continent, while reciprocating the support to other competitively-advantaged companies in sister countries in other areas of expertise, there will be an increase in the scale upon which these companies can viably establish or cement their operations. “These are truly the building blocks toward realising...

The Compact with Africa is a G20 initiative that promotes macroeconomic, business and financing reforms to attract more private investment in Africa, including in infrastructure. Participants of a G20 Compact with Africa meeting this week assessed Africa’s progress in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. “We are meeting at a pivotal time in the relationship between Africa and the rest of the world,” said Italian prime minister Mario Draghi. The Compact with Africa is a G20 initiative that promotes macroeconomic, business and financing reforms to attract more private investment in Africa, including in infrastructure. The conference brought together heads of state of the 12 Compact members and institutional partners, including the African Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It involved strategy discussions around attracting higher inflows of foreign direct investment to Africa and the urgent imperative to develop vaccine manufacture capability on the African continent. Securing the continent’s recovery from the impacts of Covid-19 is one of the Compact’s near-term objectives. Vaccine inequity was a recurring theme, and heads of state shared reforms that they had undertaken as part of the initiative. Closer international cooperation was urged to address climate change, debt levels and investment shortfalls. President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa emphasized that “Africa will not be able to recover until Africans are vaccinated.” President Emmanuel Macron said France had committed to providing $10 million vaccine doses for Africa. African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina said the African Development Bank had committed to investing $5 billion to support vaccine...

How a producers’ organization helped farmers successfully export avocado to Europe ACCRA, Ghana, August 26, 2021/APO Group/ -- “Before the Forest and Farm Facility Programme (FFF) reached out to us, I faced many challenges in marketing the avocado produce from my farm,” says Paul Mitei, a farmer from Kiptoben Village, Nakuru County, Kenya. Paul says he wanted to know more about how the avocado and tomato value chains worked, and the proper inputs that are critical to avocado cultivation and meeting market demands. Paul is married with 3 children and has a 5-acre farm where his family tends to avocado trees. He says he started to grow avocadoes because other farmers in his community were growing them, but at that time he had poor crop management skills which led to low fruit yields, no profit and a lot of frustration. . To improve his knowledge and capacity on the avocado value chain, he joined the Nakuru Small Holder Fruit Producers Association (NASFPA) with the hopes of higher sales of his farm produce. “Being a member of NASFPA, I am now well informed about better market access and can benefit from the FFF project. The initiative also gave me the opportunity to export my produce to Europe,” Paul said. He now produces high value fruits and sells together with his fellow NASFPA members. Paul currently has 104 avocado fruit trees out of which 15 were fully mature by last year. Out of the 15 matured trees he harvested 500 kgs last...

Readers discuss how the Belt and Road Initiative could help African nations better prepare for climate change and China’s commitment to socialism and communism We have been witnessing some serious climate catastrophes across the world. Unprecedented and massive floods affecting central and northern Europe were followed by record rainfall in Henan, China, and northern India. Climate change is affecting millions of lives across the world. The consensus in the scientific community is that climate change is anthropogenic – caused primarily by greenhouse gas emissions. The industrialised world is acting to mitigate greenhouse emissions, although with mixed results. At the same time, it is expected that economic and industrial development in the least developed countries in Asia or Africa could worsen the global climate crisis. Yet, the least developed countries are disproportionately affected by climate change. For example, the accelerating desertification and drought in the Sahel region boosted cyclone activity on the East African coast and even increased the frequency of locust infestations in the Horn of Africa, affecting the food security of millions of people. By increasing investment in infrastructure and financial assistance, China’s Belt and Road Initiative is expected to help African nations better prepare to cope with climate change. Belt and Road Initiative explained In a chapter in the book Climate Change, Hazards and Adaptation Options, Michael Addaney argues that the “infrastructural development” and “agricultural modernisation”, and the strengthening of “logistical connectivity” and “effective partnerships”, via the Belt and Road Initiative will boost Africa’s capacity to adapt to...

The conversation about Investing in Africa is shifting from one of deficits and gaps to one about Opportunities, Prospects, Trends, Innovation and creativity, to the Companies and industries who have paid close attention to how business in Africa operates. Despite the effects of Covid-19 Africa remains the ripe land of opportunities and as the conversation about Investing in Africa is shifting from one of deficits and gaps to one about Opportunities, Prospects, Trends, Innovation and creativity, in the Companies and industries who have paid close attention to how business in Africa operates. Africa continues to be the newest destination for emerging market investors and according to Eric Osiakwan, the managing partner at Chanzo Capital, half of the world’s fastest-growing economies have been in Africa, with Ghana and Ethiopia among the countries which showed a real GDP growth of 8 percent in 2018. Photo/Courtesy In an interview with this reporter at the Social House hotel in Lavington area of Nairobi, Eric Osiakwan a renowned tech investor and entrepreneur says that Investors seek out emerging markets for the prospect of high returns, as they often experience faster economic growth as measured by GDP. However, along with higher returns usually comes much greater risk. “Investors’ risk in emerging market economies can include political instability, domestic infrastructure problems, currency volatility and illiquid equity, as many large companies may still be state-owned or private.” Eric said Obviously there are a number of reasons why Africa presents an incredible investment opportunity, according to Eric; “Africa is perhaps the most exciting investment destination...

“Leveraging its strategic geographical location, modern legal and regulatory framework, good corporate governance, and compliance with international financial regulations and ease of setting up and doing business, KIFC has a strong value proposition which will facilitate strategic investments into Africa, and create a bridge between the continent and the rest of the world, particularly North America (US and Canada), Latin America, Europe, and Asia,….. It will fill the void in facilitating domiciliation and structuring of African focused investments.” African markets offer enormous trade and investment opportunities with high returns and strong growth potential. In the infrastructure space alone, the African Development Bank (AfDB) estimates that the minimum infrastructure needs to sustain economic growth, population, and income level of African countries, is between US$130 billion and US$170 billion per annum. With the ongoing implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA), which has established a free trade area of 1.3 billion people across 55 countries with a total GDP valued at US$3.4 trillion, cross-border trade will be boosted and international investment opportunities will grow significantly. Other factors driving the investment opportunities available in African markets, include the demographic dividend, vast consumer base, and arable land. However, these growing investment opportunities are only being partially tapped, despite increasing interests from Western European countries, the USA, China, India, Japan, and Australia. There remains a perception amongst some international investors that the risks of African markets outweigh the potential benefits. The major factor dampening the appetite of potential international investors, including private equity...

Uganda has condemned the continued use of non-tariff barriers by her East African Community neighbors despite several petitions, saying it beats the purpose for which the community was created. Uganda has for long felt that her neighbors, mainly Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania keep backtracking when it comes to implementing the free trade treaties that govern the EAC bloc. Recently, sugar exports to Tanzania have been blocked and returned to Uganda, while Kenya has often blocked Uganda’s sugar, poultry, and dairy products. And in all instances, exporters say, there are no proper reasons given The Assistant Commissioner for Regional and Bilateral Division External Trade at the Ministry of Trade, Richard Okot Okello, says there must be renewed efforts to remove all barriers if intra-regional trade is to be revamped. He was speaking at an online regional symposium on the effects of Covid-19 on women’s economic empowerment in East Africa, organized by the Eastern African Sub-Regional Support Initiative, EASSI. Okot-Okello says regional countries have persistently put nationalist and protective measures above the regional mechanisms that were put in place to enhance regional integration. On her part, Dr Juliet Wakaisuka, a lecturer at Makerere University Business School, expressed worry that in all the support and economic recovery programs, the special plight of women is not being given special attention. She calls for affirmative action like helping women entrepreneurs formalize their business, and supporting them to adapt fully to the digital-based environment. The Commercial Attache at the Kenyan Embassy in Uganda Robert Okoth said...

Summary The Northern Corridor secretariat has a $4.4 million budget for the 2021/2022 financial year to implement and complete pending projects, as was approved by the Council of Ministers recently. In the revised Northern Corridor Transport and Transit Agreement, PPPs were touted as being key to the implementation of the $700 million RSS project. The Northern Corridor secretariat has a $4.4 million budget for the 2021/2022 financial year to implement and complete pending projects, as was approved by the Council of Ministers recently. The budget, passed at the 33rd meeting, was recommended by the executive committee as the Corridor reports inefficiencies and challenges in achieving its full potential in promoting intra-regional trade and integration. Some of the key programmes still pending include the establishment of the $700 million Road Side Stations (RSS), developing conformity testing laboratories to improve efficiency along the Corridor and implementation of uniform levies as agreed on in 2015 in Kinshasa. The RSS project seeks to put up 67 roadside stations of the 141 stations identified back in 2005 to serve as rest points for truck drivers in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Council of Ministers acknowledged the slow implementation of key Corridor projects forcing them to seek support from private sector through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). In the revised Northern Corridor Transport and Transit Agreement, PPPs were touted as being key to the implementation of the $700 million RSS project. The chief executive of East Africa Shippers Council,...

Sector experts have expressed concerns that Africa is facing growing trade barriers from conflicting Covid-19 control measures. As such, there is need for the EAC Regional Coordination Committee (RCC) on Covid-19 to review and harmonize the East African Community (EAC) policies and measures to control the pandemic. In fact the, EAC Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance, and Investment (SCTIFI) is calling for harmonization of Covid-19 testing charges and the associated validity check of the tests. Member states f the EAC need mutual recognition of test certificates once issued otherwise, traders and transporters suffer a great deal during border crossing. Kenya, Tanzania agree on Covid-19 testing and cross-border movement - The East AfricanYou have frieghters coming from Tanzania entering Kenya only to have the latter or former country deny entry due to ‘in-validity’ of the Covid-19 test and certification. This does not only apply at Namanga or Hollili cross border points, for Tanzania and Kenya and Kenya and Uganda respectively, no it occurs across all border points for all EAC countries. It is a breathe of fresh air that SCTIFI has gone ahead and directed the Republic of South Sudan and the Republic of Uganda to operationalise the Nimule/Elegu One Stop Border Post (OSBP). The two countries are now required to place their country officials at the OSBP which at the moment they do not. The East African Community (EAC) is facing huge policy and regulation differences that affect efficiency of trade. For instance, despite having formed the ambitious EAC...