Africa has long been a complex market for many global businesses. Trade and commerce have been fragmented across its 54 countries, with currencies, consumer insights and regulations specific to each. At the local level, consumers have often bought and sold things in open air markets, with cash or even barter of mobile phone minutes. But a recent pan-African trade deal has begun to streamline the African market, and technologies are giving consumers and businesses new on-ramps. The result? The continent and its 1.5 billion are more accessible than ever. Aubrey Hruby has advised companies in and out of Africa for the past two decades and is a senior fellow at the Africa Center at The Atlantic Council, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the co-author of an award-winning book, The Next Africa. In this month’s Signal Conversation, Hruby shared insights on how commerce is evolving and the many opportunities for businesses to engage in what is now the world’s fastest growing region. Transcript John Battelle Welcome to another Signal Conversation. I’m very excited about this one. We have with us Aubrey Hruby, who is an advisor to companies with interest in African markets, working mainly with African policymakers and Fortune 500 companies across 20 distinct African markets. She’s a senior fellow at the Africa Center at The Atlantic Council, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the co-author of an award-winning book The Next Africa. Welcome, Aubrey. So good to have you here. Aubrey Hruby Thank you, John....

Persistent unregulated market taxes/fees are hampering the progress of women operating in those places, a new survey has revealed. The study carried out between November 2021 and January (2022), titled: “Rapid Gender Impact Assessment of Formal and Informal taxes Medium Micro Enterprises and Urban Markets in Uganda”, shows that there are still many informal taxes collected in markets. Among the cited dues include garbage, security, toilet, offload and parking fees. The survey was done among 376 small businesses, including 226 female operators and 150 males at Kalerwe market, Kampala city centre, Luzira Kirombe and cross-border traders at Busia and Mutukula borders. It was undertaken by the Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI) and the Council for Economic Empowerment for Women of Africa (CEEWA), supported by Urgent Action Fund Africa. THE SURVEY According to the survey, most of the businesses (80%) are owned by individuals that operate them (81% - women). It further indicates that even cross-border trade is more dominated by women at 73% compared to men at only 27%, as more men are engaged in the transport sector, mainly as bodaboda riders. Presenting the study at the validation meeting at Fairway Hotel in Kampala on Thursday, the research consultant on taxes, Ronald Waiswa, said the informal fees collected in markets and other informal businesses remain a burden to women, who are the majority in the sector. “As a result, these businesses do not grow. They pay so many dues, up to about sh6,000 and sh10,000...

With the Covid-induced recession subsiding as vaccination rates increase, there was great hope for the AfCFTA to show that it could live up to its hype. So, what has worked? Since trading began on 1 January, some intra-African trade under AfCFTA arrangements based on anecdotal evidence has taken place, including alcoholic beverages and cosmetic products (recent data on trade flows are not yet fully available). Although intra-African agricultural trade remains below 20% compared to more than 60% for Europe and Asia, trade is projected to grow once negotiations have come to an end and trade barriers are progressively rolled back. To date, 42 out of 55 African countries have ratified the agreement, and 88% of the negotiations on product-specific rules of origin have been concluded, covering more than 70% of intra-African trade according to the AfCFTA Secretariat in 2021. However, a significant shortcoming of the agreement is that many nutrition-sensitive goods may not be fully liberalised or progressively liberalised over longer periods, as indicated by ongoing negotiations on tariff offers. Examples of protected goods include live animals, meat, fish, milk and dairy products, fruit and vegetables, coffee, tea, spices, oilseeds and sugars. Africa’s agricultural commodities and raw materials have traditionally dominated trade with the rest of the world (cocoa, coffee, cotton, tobacco and spices) with a mix of processed goods (cane and beet sugar, prepared or preserved tunas, wine and other food preparations). For the AfCFTA to reach its full potential by exploiting the full range of the agri-food value...

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is expected to increase intra-African trade in transport services by nearly 50 percent, according to the latest estimate by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The UNECA, noting that Africa’s transport sector is set to strongly benefit from AfCFTA, said in a statement sent to Xinhua Friday that a recent estimate entitled the “Implications of the AfCFTA for demand for transport, infrastructure and services” indicated that with AfCFTA in absolute terms, more than 25 percent of intra-African trade gains in services would go to transport alone; and nearly 40 percent of the increase in Africa’s services production would be in transport The study conducted by experts in the Energy, Infrastructure and Services Section of UNECA unpacks AfCFTA investment opportunities in the transport sector. According to the findings, AfCFTA requires 1,844,000 trucks for bulk cargo and 248,000 trucks for container cargo by 2030. This increases to 1,945,000 and 268,000 trucks, respectively, if planned infrastructure projects are also implemented. The largest demand for trucks to support AfCFTA is within West Africa at 39 percent; demand from West to Southern Africa is 19.8 percent and from Southern Africa to Western Africa by 9.9 percent. UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of UNECA Vera Songwe said the AfCFTA is “expected to significantly increase traffic flows on all transport modes – road, rail, maritime, and air,” but that such gains will only be optimized if the AfCFTA is accompanied by the implementation of regional infrastructure projects. On the...

The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) have signed a fund management agreement to raise funding support for party states and commercial entities in the area of trade. As indicated by the secretariat, the estimated fund requirement for uninterrupted implementation of the AfCFTA agreement and to eliminate the adjustment cost is about US$10 billion over the next six years, and this agreement is to help raise funding in that regard. Speaking at the agreement-signing ceremony, Secretary-General, AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene, stated that the secretariat will not be going to World Bank or International Monetary Fund (IMF) for funding support but will depend solely on indigenous funding firms to raise the required amount to successfully implement AfCFTA. “We as Africans cannot continue to go to the World Bank, IMF, and others to finance our own trade as a continent. So, I will rather go cup in hand to Afreximbank, Trade and Development Bank, then go to the others in Europe and other parts of the world for support. We are not going to succeed in the implementation of this trade agreement without Afreximbank. This Adjustment Fund is being introduced because we know that as member countries are implementing tariff adjustment mechanisms, there would be some revenue loses in the short term and we want to ensure that their interest is accommodated. This is where the Afreximbank comes in as the pillar of implementation of AfCFTA by providing this facility of US$1billion, to make sure that we...

Originally published in the World Economic Forum Blog on 13 January 2022. Limited use of technology is inhibiting LDCs' path towards structural transformation. These countries can implement measures in several areas to build their technological capacity. Innovative approaches to resource mobilization should be explored to fund such transition. Structural transformation is the process of moving resources from low productivity to higher productivity and skill-intensive sectors, thereby setting development and economic catch-up into motion. While many countries have achieved structural transformation in a matter of decades, the least developed countries (LDCs) have been notoriously slow in this respect. One of the factors for this lack of structural transformation is LDCs’ overwhelming dependence on commodities for production and exports. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's Commodities and Development Report 2021, over 75% of African LDCs depend on commodity production for over half of their export earnings, though Asian LDCs have a relatively diversified export basket. The report also suggests that it is extremely challenging to move away from the trap of commodity dependence and attain structural transformation. Fortunately, a combination of technology and global integration can help countries on this path. When it comes to technological advancement and its effective use, the LDCs are at the lower end of the ladder. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)'s Global Innovation Index 2021, which monitors the state of technological advancement in 132 countries, 21 out of the 32 countries in the bottom quartile are LDCs. Of the 22 LDCs ranked altogether, only one (Tanzania) is in the second quartile....

These include visual and performing arts, crafts, cultural festivals, photography, music, dance, film, fashion, video games, digital animation, publishing, architecture, and more. Africa’s Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is expected to be a boon for the creative sector and generate jobs for the youth. On 1 January 2021, trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) kicked off. The trade pact, which seeks to create a single market for goods and services and promote cross-border movement of capital and people, should boost intra-African trade — currently at only 18 per cent—and regional integration. It is also expected to be a boon for the creative sector. Key players in the creatives industry said as much when they met in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2019, even before the trade area launched. “We wanted to deconstruct the AfCFTA,” said Josh Nyapimbi, Executive Director of Nhimbe Trust, a pan-African creative civil society organization based in Zimbabwe, adding that the creative and cultural industries can “leverage the agreement to advance our economies.” Similarly, Wamkele Mene, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, has emphasized the need for youth involvement in cross-border trade through the creative industry and technology. He says that the active participation of young people in the free trade area could boost jobs creation and catalyze economic development. Africa’s creative sector is diverse and includes visual and performing arts, crafts, cultural festivals, paintings, sculptures, photography, publishing, music, dance, film, radio, design, fashion, video games, digital animation, architecture, and advertising, according to the UN Conference on...

EAC Secretariat Secretary-General Peter Mathuki has hailed the governments of the Republic of Rwanda and the Republic of Uganda for their efforts ahead of the reopening of the Gatuna-Katuna border post He said the reopening would strengthen bilateral ties between the two EAC Partner States, which will revitalise social, economic and political relations Mathuki added that the border would also promote peace and security across the region The EAC Secretariat has lauded Rwanda and Uganda for their efforts to reopen the Gatuna-Katuna border post on 31st January 2022. In a statement seen by The Exchange Africa, EAC Secretary General Peter Mathuki hailed the move terming it as a boost to regional integration. The move, he added, would strengthen bilateral ties between the two EAC Partner States, which will revitalise social, economic and political relations. “Reopening this strategic trade route is in line with the EAC Common Market Protocol and will speed up economic and social development of the Partner States by reviving the free movement of goods, persons, capital and labour,” said Mathuki. The Secretary-General also observed that the reopening of the border would also promote peace and security across the region. “The move reflects the deep commitment and existing goodwill among the EAC Heads of State to widen and deepen cooperation in the bloc, particularly as the Community expands with the expected entry of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” he said. According to Mathuki, the community has been committed to supporting initiatives that promote regional integration within East Africa....

Plans to decongest Kenya-Uganda border gears up – Commissioner THE East African Business Council (EABC) has been assured that the backlog of trucks at Malaba One-Stop-Border Post (OSBP) will be cleared and normalcy has been return by yesterday (Wednesday). Uganda Revenue Authority Commissioner of Customs, Abel Kagumire made the assurance when speaking at the EABC-TMA public-private dialogue at Malaba OSBP. He stated that the backlog of 4000 trucks has been reduced to 2500 trucks and the traffic queue has been reduced from 40KM to 25KMs following the implementation of the resolutions for the bilateral meeting between the Ministers of Works and Transport of the Republics of Uganda and Kenya held on Saturday. EABC CEO John Bosco Kalisa said: “In future solution to NTBs should be derived without waiting for Ministerial and Head of State decisions.” He called for the formation of Responsive Border Committee to quickly resolve future trade bottlenecks and NTBs to reduce the cost of doing border-crossing trade. The EABC boss also called for a borderless East Africa for free flow of cargo. He further urged for closer collaboration among transporters, importers, exporters, cross-border traders, customs, immigration and other trade facilitation agencies on both sides of Uganda and Kenya. Matia Etedu from the Ministry of EAC Affairs Uganda appreciated and called more public private dialogue to facilitate cross border trade in region and beyond as the EAC bloc will soon commence trading under African Continental Free Trade Area. Charles Omusana, Principal Economist (Investment & Private Sector Promotion), EAC...

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)-Uganda Business Forum is set to happen later this month, according to organisers. The forum will run for three days (March 22-25) in Kinshasa, under the theme; “Deepening Bilateral Trade, Partnerships, Knowledge Transfer for Mutual Peace and Prosperity.” The forum is being organised and coordinated by the DRC-Uganda Business Association (DUBA) on behalf of Uganda and DRC's public and private sector entities. This high-level engagement, according to a press statement released by DUBA, will be graced by both Uganda and the DRC ambassadors, the ministers of agriculture, energy, ICT, trade, works and transportation from both countries as well as public and private sector players and entities. "While aspects of trade and markets to the DRC is what many aspire, optimisms on bilateral capacitation and knowledge transfer is another aspect that Uganda is going to harness in the existing relations, beyond security and infrastructure development," the statement reads in part. The joint forum was launched in November 2019 and was harnessed on the theme of promoting bilateral trade, investment and connectivity for mutual peace and prosperity. The forum is a platform to enhance opportunities and partnerships for inclusive and sustainable development between the DRC. "It is on that, that we look to further the existing structures of formal bilateral trade, markets, partnerships, knowledge transfer for mutual peace and prosperity between the Government and peoples of DRC and Uganda as we stimulate bilateral, regional Intra Africa trade and social-economic development," the statement reads adding that, “the two...