Summary Once ratified, AfCFTA will expand business prospects for women-led businesses by integrating informal SMEs into the continental markets, breaking the barriers they constantly encounter as they try to penetrate more advanced regional and overseas markets. CBC-CIPE Women’s Empowerment Conference: Afcfta - An opportunity for women-run SMEs in Africa to competitively trade  Towards the successful implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement for inclusive and sustainable development across Africa. Expected outcomes of the full implementation of AfCFTA: Raise intra-Africa trade from 15 percent or $50 billion in 2017 to 25 percent or $70 billion by 2040 - United Nations Economic Commission of Africa (UNECA). Lift 30 million Africans out of extreme poverty and boost the incomes of nearly 68 million others who live on less than $5.50 a day – World Bank. Boost Africa’s income by $450 billion by 2035 (a gain of 7 percent) while adding $6 billion to the income of the rest of the world – World Bank. Whilst women comprise the vast majority of informal cross-border traders in Africa, they are disproportionately affected by non-tariff barriers (NTBs), including corruption, harassment, misinformation about customs procedures and regulations and confiscation of goods. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents one of the greatest opportunities for bolstering inclusive growth and sustainable development on the African continent. Under the Agreement, the African Union Member States explicitly seek to achieve gender equality and enhance the export capacity of women and youth. The AfCFTA holds a huge growth potential for businesses, within and outside...

As world leaders head to Glasgow for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, Africa needs decisive collective action rather than more encouraging words. In particular, rich countries should support a four-part financial and trade package that can ensure a transformative shift of resources to the region. Almost two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the unequal nature of the global response to the crisis is glaringly obvious. Whereas very few African countries have managed to spend the equivalent of even 1% of their GDP to combat this virtually unprecedented health emergency, Western economies have mustered over $10 trillion, or 30% of their combined GDP, to tackle it. Europe and the United States have fully vaccinated, respectively, 75% and 70% of their adult populations against COVID-19, but fewer than 6% of Africans have been vaccinated. And while some Western countries are already administering booster shots, Africa cannot get initial doses. This systemic inequity is equally evident in efforts to address the climate crisis. Climate disasters, like viruses, know no boundaries. But whereas governments in the Global North respond to such events by borrowing on capital markets at negligible cost in order to finance stimulus and investment packages, African countries must rely on either a trickle of liquidity through debt-suspension initiatives, aid pledges, or exorbitantly expensive capital-market funding. None of these options currently provide these economies with the upfront capital investment they need to improve their long-term prospects. As world leaders head to Glasgow for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), Africa...

Africa’s emerging “contactless economy” is creating plenty of new growth opportunities that investors can capitalise on Global Business Forum Africa 2021 in Dubai examines the growing role of technology as a development tool for African economies Important factors to focus on to promote digital technologies include affordable connectivity, affordable devices and digital skills Africa’s emerging “contactless economy” is growing rapidly in the Covid-era and creating plenty of new growth opportunities that African and foreign companies and investors can capitalise on, industry experts said on Wednesday at the Global Business Forum (GBF) Africa 2021 in Dubai. Held under the theme ‘Transformation Through Trade’ the two-day Forum is being held at the Dubai Exhibition Centre on the sidelines of Expo 2020 Dubai, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. A session titled Tech-celeration: The Contactless Economy brought together Lacina Koné, Director General of the Smart Africa Secretariat from Côte d’Ivoire; and Innocent Muhizi, CEO of the Rwanda Information Society Authority. “When we talk about technology in the developed world, we talk about it disruption, about new players threatening the field,” Moderator Goolam Ballim noted. “This is in contrast to what we see in Africa, where technology is seen as more developmental than disruptive. It allows new players to enter into the market – a market that is often uncharted.” Lacina Koné spoke about Smart Africa’s vision to transform Africa into a single digital market by...

Speakers at the ‘Pandenomics’ webinar recently hosted by Nedbank Namibia CIB and Simonis Storm, and supported by Nedbank Business Banking and Nedbank Private Wealth, has called for more people to get vaccinated in order to help fuel economic growth after the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. The panellist included: Nedbank Group South Africa Senior Economist, Nicky Weimar; Head of Nedbank Namibia Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), Dr Edward Turner, Simonis Storm Economist, Theo Klein; and Simonis Storm Managing Director, Bruce Hansen, who also moderated the discussion. During the discussion, Simonis Storm economist, Theo Klein, presented the economic impact and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The presentation outlined that even though the Namibian economy has been declining for the last six-year, the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the government having to introduce its lockdown policy, amplified the decline. According to the Simonis Storm report, the sectors hit hardest during this period include metal ores, beverages, accommodation, food services, meat processing, basic non-ferrous metals and transport. Growth is however forecasted for these sectors, but only marginally. Economic contractions have also resulted in job loss and retrenchment in these sectors. The presentation outlined that a total of 13,682 Namibians were retrenched between January 2020 and June 2021. Of this number 10,773 retrenchments were due to economic reasons, closure or discontinuation of business, while 2,909 were a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the factors which could lead to short-term economic growth include a higher than average rainfall season, a stronger focus...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Regional Office for Africa has launched a new brief that advocates for seizing the opportunities of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for the economic empowerment of women in agriculture. The publication is launched today to coincide with the International Day for Rural Women which is celebrated every year on 15 October to honour women and girls living in rural areas. The AfCFTA holds the potential to contribute significantly to eliminating poverty, creating jobs, and improving food security. However, the new publication Seizing the opportunities of the African Continental Free Trade Area for the economic empowerment of women in agriculture warns that the AfCFTA could exacerbate existing gender disparities and discrimination and worsen the condition of women engaged in trade and agriculture if women’s inclusion is not prioritized. The AfCFTA will change existing trading practices and formalize markets which could preclude women’s access and further relegate them to informal and less lucrative value chains. “Women must not be left behind,” said FAO Senior Gender Officer Clara Park. “It is of pivotal importance that we create ecosystems of support that enable women to access opportunities created through the AfCFTA and reinvigorate our efforts to address existing gender inequalities in access to and control over land, services, technology, markets and knowledge. We need to bring women and their organizations to the decision making table,” she said. Women’s key role in Africa’s food production and trade Around 85 percent of economic activity in Africa...

The impact of the pandemic on global supply chains has prompted governments around the world to look at ways to fix the broken links. In Africa, the launch of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), has provided the continent with new opportunities to strengthen its regional supply chain. Virusha Subban, Head of Indirect Tax at Baker McKenzie in South Africa, explains that there were massive breakages in key links in global supply chains during and after the pandemic, with issues including, among many other things, route congestion and blockages, manufacturing shutdowns, a deficit of skilled labour, a global shortage of key logistics components including shipping containers, a lack of space in warehouses, a spike in transportation costs and substantially increased demand for goods around the world, post-lockdown. As a result, countries have been looking at ways to relink broken chains. In February 2021, President Biden addressed this issue by signing an Executive Order on America’s supply chains. He ordered federal agencies to review and identify vulnerabilities in key US supply chains and develop policies to ensure those supply chains would be more resilient to future shocks. Similarly, the European Union Policy Department for External Relations issued a report on Post Covid-19 value chains: options for reshoring production back to Europe in a globalised economy. The report noted that, against the background of both supply shortages due to the pandemic, and the shift in global trading patterns, reshoring of production, the process of bringing production activities home, had become a topical...

Minister of Transport and Logistics Frank Tayali says Government intends to implement an intermodal network that links road, rail, air, and marine for transporting cargo and passengers within and through Zambia. Mr. Tayali said there is a need to consider Zambia’s position of being landlocked to being land-linked which creates abundant opportunities for improving and linking transport systems. Speaking when he officiated at the Meet and Greet the Industry Breakfast meeting held yesterday at Taj Pamodzi Hotel, the Minister stated that Zambia is well-placed to facilitate trade in the African Continental Free Trade Area. He stated that Zambia is a Corridor Network in Southern African Development Community and Common Market for Eastern (SADC) and Southern Africa (COMESA). He further stated that Zambia is endowed with incredible investment prospects that drive and support developments in the various sectors of the economy. Mr. Tayali said the sectors of the economy which once harnessed, will see a Zambia that will address issues of job creation and poverty reductions. “I am reliably informed that the upcoming Land-Linked Zambia Conference has already attracted active participation from the Ports of Beira and Nacala in Mozambique, Durban-South Africa, Walvis Bay-Namibia, Dar-es-salaam-Tanzania, all of whom have a Corridor that they serve that passes through Zambia,” he said. Mr. Tayali added that the Corridors bring with them numerous business and investment opportunities for the country. The Minister highlighted that the conference and exhibition scheduled for December 2021 rightly dubbed as Land-Linked Zambia 2021 will underline the vital role Zambia...

Summary A meeting held at the AfCFTA headquarters in Accra found that without these provisions no trade can take place. East Africa’s private sector was represented in Accra by the East African Business Council’s (EABC) Chief Executive John Bosco Kalisa. Rules of Origin determine which products can be subject to tariffs and duties. The implementation phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which went live on January 1, is still bogged down by technicalities as key provisions of the agreement are yet to be concluded. The technical provisions that are proving to be a hurdle to trade are the rules of origin, the tariff offer and Customs Union. A meeting held at the AfCFTA headquarters in Accra, Ghana on September 18-19, to review the agreement nine months after its inception, found that without these provisions no trade can take place, at least not as easily as envisaged. East Africa’s private sector was represented in Accra by the East African Business Council’s (EABC) Chief Executive John Bosco Kalisa who emphasised the importance of establishing the Rules of Origin in the continent’s FTA. “So far no trading has taken place because we are still ironing out issues. Before anyone starts trading, there are a number of key components such as tariffs and Rules of Origin — the criteria needed to determine the national source of a product — which have to be agreed on. The rules of origin are basically the ‘passport for goods’ and if these rules are not...

The value of Intra-COMESA total exports declined by 11 percent from Ksh.1.2 trillion (US$.10.9 billion) in 2019 to Ksh.1 trillion (US$.9.7 billion) in 2020 due to adverse effects of COVID-19 pandemic and pre-existing factors such as supply-side challenges and prevalence of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs). The low intra-regional trade resulted from existing gaps in information availability on trading opportunities, regulatory requirements in markets and factors that inform business decisions on production of goods and trade. This was revealed during an update that was presented at the ongoing 37th Meeting of the COMESA Trade and Customs Committee, October 13 – 15, 2021. Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Assistant Secretary General in charge of programmes, Dr Kipyego Cheluget observed that regional trade could flourish if Member States embraced the COMESA trade and customs facilitation instruments and policies. “If well implemented these could significantly increase intra-COMESA trade, reduce time and cost, increase regional competitiveness, create jobs and positively impact on living standards of our people,” he said. He also said that the implementation of regional commitments and full participation of all Member States in COMESA FTA required greater efforts and improvement. In 2020, COMESA developed COVID-19 guidelines and an online platform for exchange of information on movement of essential goods and services. The aim was to ensure safe trade continued across the region. The utilization of the platform is, however, still low and member states have been urged to mobilize national business bodies to ensure its full utilization not only to address...

Vaccine inequity leaves people in developing countries vulnerable to new virus strains and slows down economic progress. Trade facilitation measures are a fast, cost-effective way to enable the smooth flow of vaccine supplies across borders to aid recovery. We outline how trade facilitation can address these key challenges and highlight the success of a project in Mozambique. As vaccine inequity hinders economic recovery in less-developed countries and threatens to reverse progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), trade facilitation measures offer a fast, cost-effective solution. From digitizing trade documents to cutting red tape and making border processes more efficient, they ensure vaccines travel more easily to those who need them most. While boosting COVID-19 vaccine production – especially in the countries with low immunization rates – resolving licensing disputes and eradicating trade barriers such as export restrictions are also vital for equitable vaccine access, they require significant time and investment. In contrast, implementing trade facilitation measures – as laid out in the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement – can reap results within months rather than years, and ensure that when vaccine supplies do ramp up, they flow quickly to where they are needed most. Facilitating trade in COVID-19 vaccines also brings long-term benefits for countries’ broader health systems and economies, reducing the future cost of importing anything from perishable foods to pharmaceutical inputs. Why vaccine inequity matters According to the Global Dashboard for Vaccine Equity, a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the University of Oxford, just 2.14% of people...