The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) (www.OPECFund.org) has signed a US$20 million term loan in favor of East African Development Bank (EADB). EADB will use the loan to support small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) and infrastructure projects in East Africa. EADB is an important regional development institution for delivering key development objectives across the East Africa region. It enjoys a high level of commitment from member states Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, as well a diverse shareholder base that includes multilateral and bilateral development institutions and international financial institutions. SMEs account for more than half of EADB’s portfolio. They play an important part in development, driving economic growth and employment opportunities in East Africa and in developing countries more generally. The bank is expanding its resource mobilization activities to meet the growing financing needs of SMEs. “We are very pleased to support private sector development in East Africa, which goes to the core of our mandate,” said OPEC Fund Director-General Dr Abdulhamid Alkhalifa. “We have partnered with EADB since 2001 and we appreciate the opportunity to strengthen our relationship. SMEs are critical to achieving progress toward Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8 on decent work and economic growth. Efficient infrastructure, as part of SDG 9, improves access to social services, reduces business and production costs, supports trade, and will ultimately provide East Africa with a more competitive business environment.” Vivienne Yeda, the Director General of EADB, said: “We are pleased to receive a line of credit of US$20...

Barcelona, September 24, 2020.- The global pandemic of the Coronavirus Covid19 remains, increases its expansion in many countries and does not have a near end. Its economic consequences are unprecedented in the last 100 years. However, we have to learn to live with this situation and conjuncture. The transport and logistics sector is one of the most important to keep us alive. The Freight News South Africa’s publication has highlighted some keys to the proper functioning of the global supply chain: Globally, movement restrictions, health screening, and border controls and closures – put in place to ward off the virus that caused Covid-19 – had led to an estimated 18% average decline in annual turnover for goods transported by road, Hügel said Unlike anything before it, the Covid-19 pandemic has underlined the importance of harmonising legislation governing the transport of goods across borders. This was the message from all four speakers at the second webinar hosted by the Southern African Transport Conference (SATC) earlier this month. The webinar explored Covid-19’s impact on freight and logistics, and was addressed by Transnet group chief executive Portia Derby, TradeMark Africa senior director of transport Abhishek Sharma, and International Road Transport Union senior advisors Jens Hügel and Kazeem Asayesh. The view of every speaker was that harmonising the legislation that governs cross-border good transit would bolster economies by reducing transport and warehousing costs, and thus increase individual countries’ resilience in the face of economic crises. Sub-Saharan Africa had taken several hard knocks due to...

“Investment and Trade for Africa’s Economic Development” – a public webinar held on Wednesday – targeted opportunities for cross-border collaboration between Africa and Germany. The African Export-Import Bank announced its plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with German car manufacturers to establish an automotive industry in Africa. The Germany-Africa Business Forum (GABF), Africa Oil & Power and the African Energy Chamber co-hosted the webinar, as part of a GABF cooperation-focused series. Berlin, 24th of September, The Germany-Africa Business Forum (GABF) hosted its second installment of its German-African cooperation-focused webinar series on Wednesday, aimed at outlining the opportunities for sustainable FDI between Germany and the African continent. The panel comprised H.E. Günter Nooke, Africa Envoy to German Chancellor Angela Merkel; NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber; and Rene Awambeng, Global Head Client Relationship at the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). Anchored by the theme of investment and trade for African economic development, the opening keynote was delivered by H.E. Nooke, and outlined four key success factors in driving Africa’s economic development: investment and business climate, transport, energy and technological infrastructure, available workforce, and access to markets. Digitalization and green energy were advanced as two of the critical sectors for facilitating Africa’s economic and social development. Africa contains a young, tech-savvy population, noted H.E. Nooke, translating to smooth technological adoption and enhanced opportunities for both consumers and businesses. Highlighting efforts to expand global market reach, H.E. Nooke noted the anticipated benefits of the recently adopted African Continental Free Trade...

In recent months, the U.S. began negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement with Kenya. These negotiations are aligned with the current administration’s vision for trade reciprocity rather than unilateral trade preference programs. Although these negotiations could produce the first bilateral trade agreement between the U.S. and a sub-Saharan African country, a shift from regional preferential trade agreements to bilateral free trade agreements could undermine the growth of smaller countries, who may not be of enough economic interest to the United States. Bilateral agreements could also undermine efforts to create a regional economic bloc through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). When President Bill Clinton signed the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in 2000, African countries were given a competitive edge by providing unilateral duty-free exports for 6,500 products from Africa to the United States. Twenty years after AGOA was first adopted, we see that it has created long-term, sustainable growth by stimulating the private sector and creating jobs in a region where many countries are battling high unemployment, thereby addressing structural challenges the region faces. Additionally, in choosing a regional approach for the trade agreement, Clinton empowered both big players like South Africa and smaller players like Lesotho. In many ways, this approach aligns with the “trade not aid” mantra. Although AGOA has been extended twice, most recently until 2025, it has come under threats over the last four years, as tariffs were imposed on key steel and aluminum products and duty-free access was suspended for apparel...

Governments in Africa are being urged to harmonise trade policies to ensure the continent strikes the right balance between tackling coronavirus and keeping trade flowing. In a report the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said inefficiencies and disruptions to cross-border trade risk holding back the continent’s development goals, though innovations such as a common African Union (AU) Covid-19 test certificate for truck drivers were a step forward. Read original article

THE 2020 Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor (AATM), published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), has recently been released, providing an analysis of continental and regional trends in African agricultural trade flows and policies. According to the AATM report, the third in a series of flagship reports, policy reactions among the world’s leading food and agricultural producers during the coronavirus pandemic since the beginning of the year have caused disruptions in world supply chains and threatened food-security systems in food import-dependent countries. Furthermore, measures to contain the virus have magnified the negative impact of the crisis on intra-continental trade flows and the livelihoods of millions of people across Africa. But opportunities lie in the crisis, as the foreword to the report points out. Among these is a strong political will to improve intra-African integration with the ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. This agreement, launched in July 2019, aims to eliminate tariff and non-tariff measures on goods, improve continental integration, and speed up customs procedures that remain a serious barrier to trade performance in Africa. According to the report, countries should not let the pandemic stop progress towards economic integration. It said that agreements like the AfCFTA could provide not only a solid basis for long-term economic development, but also a means of effectively fighting future pandemics by facilitating the cross-border trade of food and medical goods. According to the report, virtual negotiations on the AfCFTA could begin in the coming days and set a...

SUMMARY Women stand to gain up to 2.5 percent more in real income with removal of trade barriers, a new World Bank report has shown. The joint report by the World Bank Group and the World Trade Organisation has revealed that trade openness can increase women income and welfare by easing business activities and reducing the amount spent on specific goods such as food, clothing and childcare items that are highly demanded by women. The report, Women and Trade: The Role of Trade in Promoting Women’s Equality, cites that higher tax burden is the result of many applied duties and higher spending on imported goods by women consumers. Women stand to gain up to 2.5 percent more in real income with removal of trade barriers, a new World Bank report has shown. The joint report by the World Bank Group and the World Trade Organisation has revealed that trade openness can increase women income and welfare by easing business activities and reducing the amount spent on specific goods such as food, clothing and childcare items that are highly demanded by women. The report, Women and Trade: The Role of Trade in Promoting Women’s Equality, cites that higher tax burden is the result of many applied duties and higher spending on imported goods by women consumers. In a sample conducted in 54 developing economies, the current tariff structure in 78 percent of countries benefit male- headed households. Even though Kenya surpassed most economies, higher tariffs which translate to a lower share...

This presentation was made by Ms. Gloria Atuheirwe of Trade Mark East Africa during the Virtual public forum on the Plight of Women Traders during the COVID-19 pandemic; Trade in Services, Trade in Goods and the Policy Environment held on Thursday, 10th September 2020. [download id="55709"] Read original article

Arusha — Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa's largest economy, is keen on increased trade links with the East African Community (EAC). Outgoing Nigerian High Commissioner to Tanzania Sahabi Issa Gada, said his country was ready for deeper relations with the EA bloc. "There is a need to encourage deeper integration through business exchanges," he said when he paid a visit to the EAC headquarters here. Dr Gada, who was also accredited to the EAC, said increased trade between the two sides would boost the economies of the same. He did not give any statistics but trade between Nigeria, also the most populous country in Africa, is often reported to below. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Nigeria's economy is worth more than $ 500 billion and $1 trillion in terms of nominal GDP and purchasing power parity respectively. It is often seen as a 'Giant of Africa' owing to its large population of 206 million, a strong economy and an emerging market by the World Bank. EAC Secretary General Liberat Mfumukeko stressed the need for stronger collaboration between EAC and the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas He said although the EAC has made some milestones, it was now bound to focus on a few priority areas "that will produce impactful results to the lives of EA citizens". He added: "Integration is not an easy movement as it needs vision, courage and commitment of the partner states to propel the agenda." He stressed the need for Ecowas and EAC to...

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 12- The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has launched a new COVID-19 cross-border trade report urging governments on the continent to adopt and harmonize policies that will help continent strike an appropriate balance between curbing the spread of the virus and facilitating emergency and essential trade. Titled Facilitating cross-border trade through a coordinated African response to COVID-19, the report says continued inefficiencies and disruptions to cross-border trade presented significant challenges for Africa’s fight against COVID-19, and risked holding back the continent’s progress towards the attainment of the sustainable development and goals and Africa’s Agenda 2063. Maintaining trade flows as much as possible during the pandemic will be crucial in providing access to essential food and much-needed medical items and in limiting negative impacts on jobs and poverty, said Stephen Karingi, Director of the ECA’s Regional Integration and Trade Division (RITD) that penned the report. To curtail the rapid spread of the virus, African nations introduced lockdowns and various restrictions that negatively affected cross-border and transit freight transportation. The border restrictions and regulations have helped minimize infections and deaths across the continent but had a negative impact on cross-border trade and economic activity, hindering both significantly. The report recommends that African nations should cooperate and harmonize COVID-19 border regulations to reduce delays, while not undermining the safety of trade. It proposes fast tracking implementation of existing Regional Economic Community (REC) COVID-19 guidelines, including establishing regional coordinating committees with the primary task of addressing operational issues at national borders....