IN SUMMARY WOMEN IN BUSINESS. MTN’s Women in Business dinner attracted women and men from both professional and business circles, who shared and learnt from each other’s experiences. Step up. These two words uttered by Jennifer Mwijukye, chief executive officer and founder Unifreight Group, the keynote speaker, were both the conviction and inspiration that the women gathered at the 2016 MTN Women in Business awards dinner needed. “CEOs who are seated in the office can no longer sustain their businesses. You must go out there. Think beyond profits and think about how to sustain your business and impact society,” Mwijukye said. Set against the backdrop of women adapting ICTs to boost their different businesses, the evening at Kampala Serena Hotel last month, brought together both professional and business women, as well as a few men, to sip from the wisdom of different experiences. Right from the former finance minister Maria Kiwanuka, to the admirable panellists, the speakers quipped that technology goes a long way to improve one’s business, especially the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), giving them a competitive edge and also helping one minimise costs. Data from Uganda Communications Commission puts the number of internet users in the country at 8.5 million, thus women in business are able to take advantage of this fast growing technology to provide business solutions. The panel, moderated by Marketing and communications specialist Susan Nsibirwa comprised Knight Frank’s managing director Judy Kyanda, TradeMark Africa Country director Allen Asiimwe, MTN’s chief marketing officer Mapula Bodibe...

A new report unveiled at the ongoing African Development Week meeting at Addis Ababa indicated the cross-border movements were easiest between Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. EAC's leadership in integration, which identified various matrices including roaming costs and volume of trade, is a major indicator towards achieving the dream of a unified Africa by 2063. "Deeper regional integration means larger markets and industrialisation and productivity as part of value chains," said Erastus Mwencha, the deputy chairperson of the African Union Commission, adding: "It means talent mobility thanks to greater visa openness." Kenyan citizens, for instance, only need to produce their national identification documents to enter any of the countries in the bloc, while work permit requirements are minimal as the region works towards the dream of a common currency. A regional parliament made of 54 members, which has been sitting since November 2001, is charged with streamlining the respective country laws with the vision of the five-member community. Several firms have had their shares cross-listed at the various stock exchanges. Integration in the EAC was ranked ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc where Tanzania has a cross-membership. South Africa is the most developed economy in the trading bloc, and is naturally the biggest exporter into the 15-member community. Africa's largest bloc, the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (Cen-Sad), which draws membership from 27 countries in the northern part of the continent including Kenya and Somalia, is ranked worst. Among the reason for the poor score is the...

By Marc Nkwame Arusha — AS the new Secretary General for the East African Community is set to report at the Secretariat this month, the East African Employers' Organization already has some tasks ready for him. "We want the new EAC Secretary General, Mr Liberat Mfumukeko, to push the five governments of the member states in fast-tracking free movement of workers, persons and labour," stated the chairperson of the East African Employers' Organization (EAEO), Ms Rosemary Ssenabulya, who is also the Executive Director of Uganda Employers' Association. Ms Ssenabulya was delivering a joint statement from heads of employers' associations from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi who gathered here under their EAEO umbrella to discuss the implementation of the East African Community's Common Market Protocol, launched back in July 2010 but until now, many figure that the CMP remains a far-fetched theory. Free movement of people, capital and labour were among the things stipulated in the East African Common Market Protocol. However the EAC stated earlier that, free movement of people will only be viable once each member state issued machine-readable Identity Cards. "We are however happy that, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda have waivered work permit fees in their respective borders, which by itself is great achievement of the East African Community under the outgoing Secretary General, Dr Richard Sezibera," added the Executive Director of the Association of Tanzania Employees (ATE), Dr Aggrey Mlimuka, the Secretary General of EAEO. They were of view that, it is high time Tanzania and...

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a US$228mn loan to the government of Kenya. The financing will go towards rehabilitating a 172 km road between Kenya and Tanzania. The renovation of this route, to be undertaken between 2016 and 2019, will facilitate trade between the two neighbouring countries, halving the travel time and transports costs between the border towns of Isebania (Tanzania) and Ahero (Kenya), southeast of Lake Victoria. The road forms part of the Sirari corridor, a major trade and transit route linking Tanzania, Kenya and South Sudan’s major ports. Once completed, the road in expected to facilitate local and international trade, opening up new markets particularly for the agri-business and fishing industries. “Lower transport costs will ensure that a greater share of the price of exported goods accrues to producers, thereby increasing incomes and reducing poverty,” says Amadou Oumarou, director of the transport and information and communications technology department at the AfDB. The strengthening of public transport is also part of the project, with the AfDB also financing the construction of three bus stations to further facilitate the movement of people in the region. Kenya and Tanzania are both part of the East African Community (EAC), of which they represent the biggest countries by geographic and economic size. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and President John Magufuli of Tanzania have pledged their commitment to reducing barriers to trade and integration in the EAC. The countries are working on a series of infrastructure projects to increase the ease of...

The U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in February as a rebound in exports was offset by an increase in imports, the latest indication that economic growth weakened further in the first quarter. But the growth picture should brighten in the months ahead, with other data on Tuesday showing that activity in the vast services sector picked up in March as new orders rose strongly, and sustained strength in the labor market. "There are some green shoots appearing this spring in the economic data which makes us more confident that 2016 is going to be a good year after a step-down in expectations and hopes at the start of the year," said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG Union Bank in New York. The Commerce Department said the trade deficit increased 2.6 percent to $47.1 billion in February, worse than economists' forecasts for a reading of $46.2 billion. When adjusted for inflation, the shortfall rose to $63.3 billion, the largest since March last year, from $61.8 billion in January. That prompted economists to cut their first-quarter gross domestic product growth estimates by as much as half a percentage point to as low as a 0.4 percent annualized rate. They see trade subtracting at least seven-tenths of a percentage point from GDP growth in the first quarter, up from 0.14 point in the fourth quarter. The economy grew at a 1.4 percent rate in the final three months of 2015. Though the trade report joined data on consumer and business...

UK Export Finance, the British export credit agency on Tuesday signed a deal with the African Trade Insurance (ATI), which will see the latter offer UK exporters information about growing markets on the continent. As an ATI member, the export agency will now gain access to information about upcoming opportunities for British exporters, as well as local knowledge of firms and projects. ATI will also provide a platform to raise awareness among project sponsors and investors in African countries of the UKEF support available to Kenyan importers of UK goods and services. “A close partnership between ATI and UKEF will give African buyers and UK suppliers access to each other. “UKEF and ATI will be able to identify and promote real business opportunities where UK and African companies can work together, and to provide the local market knowledge needed to facilitate trade,” said ATI chief executive officer George Otieno, after the partnership signing. NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES British High Commissioner to Kenya Nic Hailey said the deal would help British firms single out and capitalise on new business opportunities in Kenya. “The UK is a global leader in many of the sectors for which Kenya has greatest demand including infrastructure, advanced engineering, energy, ICT and defence and security. In these and other specialist areas, UK expertise can help accelerate Kenya’s development and economic growth,” said Mr Hailey. Britain in February announced a Sh74 billion fund to help Kenyans import goods from the UK. UKEF, through the fund, would seek to help...

KAMPALA, UGANDA - 1.2 billion people currently live without access to electricity and more than 2.7 billion people are without clean cooking facilities. With over 95% of these people located either in sub-Saharan Africa or developing Asia, clearly there exists a vast gap which must be closed. But how? The 18th annual Africa Energy Forum (AEF) will take place from 22-24 June 2016, to try to uncover solutions to Africa’s energy deficit and present opportunities which will drive project investment on the continent, acting as a catalyst for economic development. AEF is the global investment meeting for Africa’s power, energy, infrastructure & industrial sectors, expected to welcome 1,000 investors, 500 public sector stakeholders, 300 technology providers, 270 developers and 70 countries in June later this year. Widely regarded as the most important networking event of the year for Africa’s energy community, global investors attend to collectively find solutions to the challenges currently limiting the development of Africa’s power sector. The conference will include country and regional focus sessions, panels on mergers & acquisitions, the impact of COP21 & COP22 on investment, off grid solutions, and discussions which will explore the relationship between Africa and countries such as the UK, USA and China. The Forum also features a buzzing exhibition of over 80 solution providers who supply to the African continent. 125 speakers have confirmed to date including several from the East Africa region, such as: Brigadier General Emeldah Chola, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Water Development, Zambia, Benon Mutambi,...

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has warned that the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) entered in October 2014 with the East African countries opens up the local market to competition from European products. “This deal might adversely affect Kenyan industries, however, through increased competition from the European Union,” reads the caution contained in a report compiled by the ECA. Kenya was forced to sign into the agreement after intense negotiation with its neighbours on what actual benefits it would have, when weighed against costs, which include dumping. Kenya is among 11 countries whose individual profiles were studied and compiled by the UN, and unveiled in the African Development Week, an ongoing conference in Addis Ababa. Under the agreement, Kenya and the other regional countries have enjoyed quota-free and duty-free market access in Europe. But in reciprocation, the EAC countries would gradually open up their markets to imports from the more developed nations within the European Union. It is the fear that the agreement would promote low-value exports that ECA is raising in its warning. “In fact, tariff cuts may undermine structural transformation if they provide greater incentives to export primary products with low value added rather than more sophisticated products such as manufactured goods,” the report authored by Pedro Martins and a team of economists, for the UN, reads. Kenya, unlike the other regional economies, is not ranked among the least development countries and its exports could therefore not qualify for preferential treatment in developed markets. President Uhuru Kenyatta reluctantly...

CHISHALA MUSONDA, Ndola THE Zambian and Malawian governments have shown interest to revive transportation of petroleum products using Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara) line. Malawi transports freight using Tazara from Dar-es-Salaam to Mbeya where they have a government-owned inland container depot and storage tanks for fuels. From Mbeya, the cargo is moved by road into Malawi. Company deputy managing director Betram Kiswaga said Tazara has improved its operations and increased cargo transportation in volume. This follows renewed confidence shown from its customer base following improvement in Tazara’s operations which confirms that it has now attained some levels of stability. Briefing the media recently, Dr Kiswaga said the authority has received positive response from key customers who have increased their monthly volumes of cargo transportation. “We have received renewed commitment and are expecting huge volumes of freight from customers that had lost confidence in Tazara including the Zambian and Malawian governments that will be resuming transportation of petroleum products using Tazara line,” he said. Tazara is determined to continue building on its achievements to raise its operation performance even higher even though it faces challenges. “The authority faces challenges, but we take these challenges as an inspiration and a motivation to every employee to work even harder to survive and turn around this great facility,” Dr Kiswaga said. In November, Tazara received 10 diesel-electric locomotives and 18 coaches and Dr Kiswaga said this will help improve operations for the company. The equipment was bought through the 15th Protocol of Economic and Technical...

The East African Community is leading in regional integration and free movement of goods and people on the continent. A new report unveiled at the ongoing African Development Week meeting at Addis Ababa indicated the cross-border movements were easiest between Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. EAC's leadership in integration, which identified various matrices including roaming costs and volume of trade, is a major indicator towards achieving the dream of a unified Africa by 2063. "Deeper regional integration means larger markets and industrialisation and productivity as part of value chains," said Erastus Mwencha, the deputy chairperson of the African Union Commission, adding: "It means talent mobility thanks to greater visa openness." Kenyan citizens, for instance, only need to produce their national identification documents to enter any of the countries in the bloc, while work permit requirements are minimal as the region works towards the dream of a common currency. A regional parliament made of 54 members, which has been sitting since November 2001, is charged with streamlining the respective country laws with the vision of the five-member community. Several firms have had their shares cross-listed at the various stock exchanges. Integration in the EAC was ranked ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc where Tanzania has a cross-membership. South Africa is the most developed economy in the trading bloc, and is naturally the biggest exporter into the 15-member community. Africa's largest bloc, the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (Cen-Sad), which draws membership from 27 countries in the northern part...