Africa’s increasing integration has been much talked about over the past couple of weeks. The progress displayed on this project is one for which Africa’s political leadership deserves praise, and is one of the most significant developments on the continent for many years. Africa’s cooperation efforts date back to 1963, but attempts to achieve this broad strategic objective have failed over the years. The signing of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) deal by 44 of the African Union’s 55 member states marks a watershed moment for African integration. With the dream of an interconnected Africa now closer than ever before, the continent could welcome new economic opportunities in the coming decade. However, the fragmentation of the African market remains its most significant challenge.  Transportation and communication costs are high when compared to other markets such as China, Europe, or the US. These high costs are holding back the development of integrated supply chains throughout the continent. Africa is headed in the right direction though, with initiatives such as the recent common air transport market, which could drive down airfares, as well as plans for visa-free travel for Africans across the continent. Infrastructure in Africa is just beginning to develop. Ambitious schemes like the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport Corridor Project (LAPSSET) in Kenya are what the continent needs. LAPSSET is an attempt to build a transport and logistics hub which would cement Kenya as a gateway to the East African sub-region. The rail network is growing quickly, though only within the...

The African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) agreement was signed by 44 countries on March 22, committing them to remove tariffs on 90 per cent of imports. This according to Renaissance Capital is expected to improve intra-regional trade which stands at 20 per cent in Africa vs 62 per cent between advanced economies. Meanwhile, of Africa’s regional blocs, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has the highest intra-regional trade at 23 per cent. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has the lowest at 8 per cent, albeit up from 4 per cent in 2000. RenCap found that the blocs with higher intra-regional trade – SADC and the East Africa Community (EAC), albeit a far second at 10 per cent – have diversified exports and the advantage of having member states that are geographically close. It said that COMESA’s export diversity is undermined by the fact that member states are geographically distant (Swaziland to Egypt). The bloc with the lowest export diversity is the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). RenCap attributed this to the dominance of commodities (crude oil, cocoa, gold) that are exported to offshore processing facilities. However, Dangote Cement’s plan to export 3mnt pa of clinker (c. 17 per cent of its Nigerian production) from 4Q18 could see intra-ECOWAS trade improve from 9 per cent. Intra-regional trade is a growing African story According to RenCap, compared with other regions of the world, trade between African countries is low because several countries export the same...

Escalating tensions between the US and China could hurt a global trade expansion that’s already expected to be lower this year than in 2017, the World Trade Organization said Thursday. The Geneva-based body warned that there are signs a looming global standoff is already affecting business confidence and investment decisions, possibly jeopardizing the projected growth, Bloomberg reported. The warning chimes with that of Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund, who cautioned on Wednesday that the world economy must avoid being sucked into a protectionist spiral. The global trading system, which has reduced extreme poverty, cut living costs and created millions of high-paying jobs, “is now in danger of being torn apart,” she said. “This important progress could be quickly undermined if governments resort to restrictive trade policies, especially in a tit-for-tat process that could lead to an unmanageable escalation,” WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said in a prepared statement. “It is not possible to accurately map out the effects of a major escalation, but clearly it could be serious,” Azevedo told a news conference in presenting the WTO report. He said that “risks to the forecast are significant and they are predominantly on the downside” while adding that technically a trade war has not started. Cycle of Retaliation Trade growth could suffer as a result of Trump’s pugnacious approach to trade and his administration’s preference for unilateral tariffs rather than negotiated solutions within the context of the WTO. His stance has already generated strong backlash from China. “A cycle of...

Africa’s increasing integration has been much talked about over the past couple of weeks. The progress displayed on this project is one for which Africa’s political leadership deserves praise, and is one of the most significant developments on the contitnet for many years. Africa’s cooperation efforts date back to 1963, but attempts to achieve this broad strategic objective have failed over the years. The signing of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) deal by 45 of the African Union’s 55 member states marks a watershed moment for African integration. With the dream of an interconnected Africa now closer than ever before, the continent could welcome new economic opportunities in the coming decade. However, the fragmentation of the African market remains its most significant challenge.  Transportation and communication costs are high when compared to other markets such as China, Europe, or the US. These high costs are holding back the development of integrated supply chains throughout the continent. Africa is headed in the right direction though, with initiatives such as the recent common air transport market, that could drive down airfares, as well as plans for visa-free travel for Africans across the continent. Infrastructure in Africa is just beginning to develop. Ambitious schemes like the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport Corridor Project (LAPSSET) in Kenya are what the continent needs. LAPSSET is an attempt to build a transport and logistics hub which would cement Kenya as a gateway to the East African subregion. The rail network is growing quickly, though only with the borders of specific countries. However, the East...

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — The sweaty mechanic tossed aside the used jeans one by one, digging deep through the pile of secondhand clothes that are at the center of another, if little-noticed, Trump administration trade war. The used clothes cast off by Americans and sold in bulk in African nations, a multimillion-dollar business, have been blamed in part for undermining local textile industries. Now Rwanda has taken action, raising tariffs on the clothing in defiance of U.S. pressure. In response, the U.S. says it will suspend duty-free status for clothing manufactured in Rwanda under the trade program known as the African Growth and Opportunity Act. President Donald Trump’s decision has not gone down well in Rwanda, a small, largely impoverished East African nation still trying to heal the scars of genocide 24 years ago. Similar U.S. action against neighboring countries could follow; Uganda and Tanzania have pledged to raise tariffs and phase in a ban on used clothing imports by 2019. The action against Rwanda comes just weeks after Trump met Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the World Economic Forum and proclaimed him a “friend,” as Trump sought to calm anger in Africa over his reported vulgar comments about the continent. Kagame currently chairs the African Union, where heads of state just days after the meeting drafted, but decided against issuing, a blistering statement on Trump. The U.S. trade action is finding a mixed response in Africa, with some upset at Trump again, while others defend the secondhand clothing as...

KIGALI, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda's Cabinet has endorsed the draft law ratifying the African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA), paving way for parliament's ratification. According to minutes of Wednesday's cabinet meeting, the cabinet also approved Protocol on trade in goods, Protocol on trade in services, and Protocol on rules and procedures for settlement of disputes which were signed in Kigali, Rwanda, in March 2018. The African Continental Free Trade Area treaty is geared at increasing intra-Africa trade. Up to 44 countries signed the deal in Kigali at the last 10th Extraordinary African Union Summit of Heads of State and Government. The CFTA agreement will be adopted after being ratified by at least 22 countries. The CFTA is envisaged to establish a single liberalized market of 1.2 billion people. This is expected to spur trade, industrialization, infrastructural development, and economic diversification, according to economic experts. In the East African Community, Kenyan cabinet also in March approved the Africa Continental Free Trade Area treaty for ratification. Source: Xinhua News  

Entrepreneur, and philanthropist, Tony O. Elumelu will lead a 5-day working visit to East Africa, where he will meet withnational leaders of Kenya and Uganda. In his capacity as Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Mr. Elumelu will travel to Uganda (April 10) and Kenya (April 12) to meet with the Executive Presidents of both nations, Uhuru Kenyatta and Yoweri K. Musevenito discuss issues around the growth and development of the their economies, enabling entrepreneurship, infrastructure financing, regional economic growthand how the private sector in Africa can work in shared purpose alongside African governments to create prosperity for all Africans. On the side lines of these engagements, the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) will gather members of the full local ecosystem – from investors to academia to established and emerging entrepreneurs alike – for an entrepreneurship ecosystem event. During the event, TEF alumni and members of the vibrant Kenyan and Ugandan entrepreneurship communities will receive insights from guest speakers who will provide practical, practicable information to help the audience develop their businesses and their business management skills. Guest speakers include leaders from TEF partner Microsoft and other ecosystem players including Google. During the visit, Elumelu will also meet with key stakeholders and policy makers in the countries to discuss infrastructural funding opportunities, as well as interact with leading private and public sectors players. He will host a Founder’s Forum with students of Makerere University, Kampala and University of Nairobi, two leading African institutions. At this Forum he will give young Africans...

The search for a single East African currency is set to go a notch higher as the regional parliament prepares laws for setting up key institutions. The East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) has said its committees are using the three-week Dodoma sittings, which began on April 9 to collect views on the East Africa Monetary Institute (EAMI) Bill, 2017 and the Statistics Bureau Bill, 2017, which had earlier sailed through the first and second readings. The Monetary Institute Bill seeks to set up EAMI as an agency to initially perform the role of a regional central bank. It will be expected to craft policies required to back a single currency. The EA Statistics Bureau Bill will on the other hand create a regional agency akin to European Union’s Eurostat, charged with gathering data  to guide decision making within the EAC Monetary Union. The Eala’s Committee on Communications and Trade is currently engaging with stakeholders on the regional Statistics Bureau Bill while its General Purpose Committee is handling views on the EAC Monetary Institute Bill. The East African ministers, including Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for East African Community and Northern Corridor Development Peter Munya, are among the stakeholders on queue to exchange views with the Eala committees. “The Council of Ministers for EAC is thus expected to meet with the committees to thrash out key matters on both Bills,” Eala said in a statement The two agencies are among the enabling institutions whose absence has delayed the region’s match to a single...

The creation of a continental free trade area across the African continent poses unique conflict of interest challenges for the signatories. Last month, African leaders descended upon Kigali, Rwanda, the Land of a Thousand Hills’ capital, to ink an agreement that is meant to smoothen the rough terrain of intra-African trade. Nearly 50 years after independence movements swept across Africa, the continent is still struggling to find its footing. The challenges are exacerbated by both the internal makeup of the countries and a shifting geopolitical environment. In 2014, African heads of state saw a rare invite to Washington by the Obama administration to discuss trade, investment and security. This was seen as a counterbalance to the growing Chinese influence on the continent; by 2014 China-Africa trade totaled $200 billion, up from approximately $100 billion during the 2008 financial crisis. With the chaotic and confusing nature of the geopolitical challenges and the continued courting of African countries by both Beijing, through the new and ambition Belt and Road Initiative, and by the Washington security gospel, Africa finds itself in a position where it has to define its fortunes. By 2010, trade between African countries was only 11%, compared to 50% within Asia, 21% in Latin America and Caribbean, with Europe leading at 70% of internal trade. The picture is not of a continent that less than 130 years ago had no artificial boundaries and where its people traded and migrated freely. The African Union has embarked on an initiative that is...

Ecobank Kenya Wednesday launched the Emerald Ecobank Business Club aimed at widening opportunities for its Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) customers by creating direct linkages between businesses operation in 33 African Markets with over 12.8 million customers. Members of the club will also get access to direct networking platforms, market information as well as business advisory services from the Ecobank, associated partners, external trade facilitation and preferential banking among others. The Emerald Ecobank Business Club will focus on bolstering intra-Africa trade leveraging on the Bank’s presence in 33 African markets enabling SMEs to leverage on Ecobank’s customer book to authenticate and vet trading partners across the continent. Speaking during the media launch, Ecobank Kenya Executive Director, Head of Commercial Banking Kenya & EAC Humphrey Muturi noted that the launch of the new Business Club is a wider strategy by the bank to grow SME sector by offering direct linkages and a seamless base of transaction for Kenyan businesses and their counterparts across the continent. “As a pan African bank, we recognize the pivotal role that emerging businesses play in our economy, thus our target is to empower our SME customers by availing networking opportunities across our network of 33 African countries to help them grow with us. Most SMEs here in Kenya and generally across Africa face capacity challenges either in terms of technical knowledge on how businesses operate across the continent or in terms of access to opportunities to forge partnership. Emerald Ecobank Business Club members will therefore in...