Women, who form a key part of informal trade in East Africa, will benefit from a programme to equip them with knowledge in customs and trade procedures as well as boost their revenue. The $4.5 million (Sh461 million) scheme by TradeMark Africa (TMA) will involve women traders from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and South Sudan and run for about a year. “These efforts will enable women traders to overcome key challenges including access to market and trading information, understanding of customs and immigration requirements, compliance with standards, business development skills and access to finance,” Lisa Karanja, senior director for business competitiveness at TMA said. “Additionally, TMA will continue to strengthen women traders’ associations, groups and cooperatives to enable them to effectively engage with policymakers at national and local level, access group loans and engage in collective marketing.” TMA seeks to significantly contribute to women traders’ knowledge on EAC trade and export procedures by December 2016 in partnership with local organisations that will implement the programme. “Targets include a 10 per cent average increase in revenues of the targeted women exporters and traders, a 30 per cent increase in the use of formal trade channels and systems by the women cross-border traders and the adoption of policies, regulations or practices that support an enabling environment for women,” the agency said. A second five-year phase is envisaged for 2017 with a $15 million (Sh1.54 billion) budget committed to the effort. “Empowering women creates a positive multiplier effect on poverty reduction, economic...

Enterprises run by women and operating across the five-nation East African Community stands to benefit from a $4.5 million (Sh463.9 million) fund to enhance their capacity. This follows last week's launch of a project dubbed "Women and Trade" by TradeMark Africa targeting about 25,000 women traders in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and South Sudan. The project is funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands. TMA said it plans to partner with local organisations in educating female traders on trade and export procedures in the EAC bloc. The firm said its targets include a 10 per cent average growth in revenues of the successful businesses by end of next year. TMA also hopes to increase by 30 per cent the use of formal trade systems, adoption of policies, regulations and practices that support an enabling environment for women in cross border traders. Speaking during the launch in Nairobi, Foreign Affairs and International Trade CS Amina Mohamed said the project will help support women in the dorminant Small and Medium-sized Enterprises sector "Empowering women creates a positive multiplier effect on poverty reduction, economic growth, government revenues and employment creation, among other factors," Mohamed said. She said the government is keen to see the successful integration of the region and "an overall functional Free-Trade area for the continent".TMA CEO Frank Matsaert said the one-year programme will help address trade barriers faced by the women, including harassment from middlemen and double taxation at border points. "Women have been marginalised either overtly through violence...

Cross-border trade in Sub-Saharan Africa is dominated by women traders who engage in informal trade because they lack market information but their economic potential can be elevated through skills training and education. Cross-border trade is the exportation of goods through country borders. “A lot of people go informal because they have the wrong idea about what they will be charged in the tariffs, there's corruption at the borders and we need to have more accountability at the borders,” said Lisa Karanja, Senior Director of Business Competitiveness at Trade Mark East Africa. They try to facilitate trade and ensure that the benefits are reaching everybody and contribute to economic growth. "Women dominate trade in East Africa, particularly informal trade ranges from large SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) exporting goods to smaller women who are taking vegetables across,” she said. Karanja says how often people say “just increase trade and it will be good for everyone” while trying to address poverty, but that is not the case for women she said as they struggle through areas that men might not. Women suffer from “time poverty” issues because they have to look after children and are expected to work on the farms as well as a lack of access to transportation forcing them to trade smaller goods. “It’s really an economic issue, with so many women in poverty; so many women engaged in small scale border trade, how do we ensure that the benefits of the reforms are actually reaching these women?" Karanja...

NAIROBI: Women entrepreneurs across East Africa are expected to benefit from Sh460 million ($4.5 million) one year programme aimed at upgrading their businesses through cross-border trade. The programme, Women and Trade (WaT) funded by Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) is targeting 25,000 women in Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania and South Sudan. About 5,000 women entrepreneurs in Kenya are expected to be beneficiaries. In Kenya, WaT has partnered with Joyful Women Organisation which will see the women trained on exports requirements, quality and standards as well as facilitate their access to the funds through micro-finances that is expected to increase their income by 10 percent. Unveiling the programme in Nairobi, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed said the move has encompassed the spirit of East Africa Community through trade. “This will go a long way in supporting women in the Small and Micro Enterprise (SMEs) sector not only in Kenya but in the region. Consequently, there will be a multiplier effect on poverty reduction economic growth and numerous employment opportunities,” said Mohamed. Mohamed acknowledged that women entrepreneurs have long being relegated to small scale businesses operating locally due to their lack of financial muscle and inadequate custom trade information. “But through this programme, there will be a significant change which will go parallel with the government’s goal of integrating the East Africa region as an overall functional free-Trade area.” According to World Bank report ‘Engendering Development’ women reinvest up to 90 percent of their income in education, health and family nutrition...

The infrastructure throughout sub-Saharan Africa requires additional investments of billions per year to be brought up to par. In particular, the region’s ports are a bottleneck and contribute to lengthy delays that significantly increase the cost of doing business across the continent. So wouldn’t it be sensible to invest in a massive extension of port facilities all over Africa? Probably not. As my colleagues and I show in our recent paper, “Why Does Cargo Spend Weeks in Sub-Saharan African Ports?”  it is actually the  collusion between controlling agencies, port authorities, private terminal operators, logistics operators, and large shippers that poses the biggest challenge to the efficient handling of goods.  It is the governance of the ports that matters most, not the large-scale investments in infrastructure. Here are the facts: Cargo dwells in sub-Saharan ports unusually long—more than two weeks on average, compared to under a week in large ports in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Excluding Durban and Mombasa, the average amount of time cargo dwells in sub-Saharan ports is close to 20 days (Table 1). These long wait times hurt the efficiency of port operations and the economy in general. Source: Brookings

Uganda yesterday accused Kenya of not being keen to follow the East African Community Common Market protocol.
Uganda High Commissioner Angeline Wapakhabulo said that while Uganda has no problem trading with Kenya, Kenyans have no trust in Uganda as a business partner. She spoke in Mombasa during the launch of a Ugandan modular ferry, the Albert Nile-1. The ferry was built in Kenya by Southern Engineering Company in partnership with Damen Shipyards, headquartered in the Netherlands. Wapakhabulo spoke after Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho said East Africa has the potential to create opportunities without relying on foreigners. She said Kenyans should not debate the sugar deal after the two countries reached agreement this October. The envoy said Uganda produces more sugar than Kenya and it is important for the two countries to develop harmonious trade relations. “Uganda produces 120,000 metric tonnes of sugar above domestic consumption. Where do you expect us to export the surplus?” she said Source: Footprint to Africa

The President re-emphasised the role of Parliament in fast-tracking the legislative agenda to ensure bills are enacted on time by member states. Addressing the East African Legislative Assembly in Nairobi, President Kenyatta pointed out that delayed implementation of the proposed EAC protocols by East African countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi was an impediment to development. "Our union must be strengthened to allow free flow of people, capital and services. We have to allow our people to take their skills and capital wherever they will be best rewarded," he said. He continued: "This weighty responsibility rests on the shoulders of the assembly members. My government is completely committed to ensure this course is realised. The issue of integration is not only a political process but requires the participation of all citizens. " He particularly challenged EALA to accelerate the legislation process of the EAC common market protocol, which anchors the right to freedom of movement and cautioned that existing political union among partner countries can't be achieved without eliminating barriers of economic development. President Kenyatta recalled the recent State visit by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, saying over half of the people who turned up for the launch of Taveta-Arusha road project were Tanzanians. "The turnout was quite telling. Half of the crowd I addressed were Tanzanians without passports and they were surprised to see their President at the event," said President Kenyatta. Source: Standard Difital

The farewell visit of Tanzania’s outgoing President Jakaya Kikwete to Kenya, apart from much rhetoric, also yielded a concrete result as, together with Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, he launched a major road construction project. The road from Voi to the Tanzanian border at Holili/Taveta has been one of the most notoriously bad road stretches connecting two key areas of the neighboring countries and have been a huge obstacle in improving trade and tourism flows between the two East African Community (EAC) member states. While the stretch to Mwatate on the Kenyan side has been tarmacked for some time already, the crucial link from the Sarova Taita Hills Lodge to the border is still in a horrific shape, often leading to safari operators shunning visits to Lake Jipe, Lake Chala, or Grogan’s Castle, all landmarks in their own right and worth seeing. The road is financed by several sources including the African Development Bank and will open up parts of Tsavo East to tourist visitors previously often inaccessible when heavy rains turned the road into a quagmire of mud. Kenyan tourism sources have confided that they harbor much hope that the next president elected by Tanzanians will resume friendly relations with Kenya similar to the 10 years of the Mkapa presidency when a record inflow of investments from Kenya to Tanzania took place. The Kikwete presidency is now largely perceived as having harbored and even fueled anti-Kenyan sentiments, largely to the detriment of improved trade relations and the full implementation of...

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 13 2015 (IPS) - African member states’ vision and ambition echo their peoples’ aspirations and builds on the continent’s robust economic growth, said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a High-Level Event on the “Role of African Regional and Sub-Regional Organizations in Achieving Regional Integration.” The High-Level meeting is the first in a series of events marking Africa Week 2015, whose theme is “Moving From Aspirations to Reality.” Organized by the Office of the Special Advisor on Africa (OSAA), Africa Week 2015 engages member states and other stakeholders to address the continent’s development priorities.It specifically focuses on implementing both the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Adopted in January 2015 by African heads of State, Agenda 2063 is an action plan for “all segments of African society to work together to build a prosperous and united Africa.” It includes commitments to industrialise economies, develop infrastructure, eradicate poverty, improve education, and act on climate change. “They seek to build lives with quality education and health care, decent jobs, a clean environment and tolerant, inclusive and democratic societies,” noted the Secretary-General in his opening remarks. “They demand and deserve a future where guns are silenced throughout the continent and poverty and hunger have no place,” Ban continued. The first High-Level event of the week also underscored the importance of regional economic integration, highlighting the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) and the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) agreements. Launched in June 2015, the TFTA aims to...

For Kisumu port, the promise of big business as hub of East African Community (EAC) will always be alive. And so its long term growth is intricately intertwined with ongoing regional economic integration. So far, the road leading to Kisumu port is being rebuilt in preparation for the standard gauge railway (SGR) – which is expected to extend to the lakeside town, linking it with Kampala, Kigali and eventually, Bujumbura and Juba. The main railway line which passes through Eldoret, is set to branch off to Kisumu at the second phase of its construction linking it to the rest of the regional markets by 2018.The railways terminal in Kisumu that connects Kenya to its neighbours Uganda and Tanzania, has been underutilised since 2011 after Rift Valley Railways (RVR) stopped its cargo trains from plying the route. President Uhuru Kenyatta told local leaders when he visited Kisumu in August that the port would be revived in the wake of EAC integration through under Northern Corridor infrastructure projects. Port manager Mwalimu Disi says the ongoing projects are just a scratch on the surface of the efforts to revitalise operations at the facility. Negotiations between Kenya Railways, RVR, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and counties seeking to use the facility are currently underway, he says.Mr Disi says more traders are now moving goods through Lake Victoria to Uganda than during the same period last year. “We have exceeded the 30 per cent utilisation of the port that we reported last year. More companies are...