Over 4000 clearing and forwarding agents have received training in clearing and forwarding to match with the growing trade in the East African Community. The training is part of the  $2.1m program funded by Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) and implemented by the East Africa regional freight forwarding Association  (FEAFFA) in conjunction with the East Africa Revenue Authorities (EARA). TMA's chief executive officer, Frank Matsaert said the training program was aimed at addressing the skills gap among freight forwarders and clearing agents in the region. He explained that the training was based on a survey by TMA that found out that freight forwarders and clearing agents lacked the necessary skills and capacity in clearing cargo at the border points resulting into delays, increase in cargo clearance costs and cargo release times. "The training could save companies up to 385 dollars in savings as the same amount of money could have been spent in fines by companies whose agents commit errors in the process of clearing," said Matsaert. He added that through training key people in freight forwarding businesses, there will be increased trade transactions. "Where you see trade grow you see prosperity take root. By training the key people in the freight forwarding business, we are helping move goods quicker, save time and money and help the region develop" added Matseart. According to him, the efficient flow of international trade relies on a range of skilled service providers working together, clearing and forwarding agents. Since 2011, 90 per cent of...

(www.abndigital.com) The African Development Bank's annual meetings kicked off in Arusha this week, with a host of activities, including the launching of the 2012 African Economic Outlook. This is to be followed by the inauguration of another report about private sector development in the continent. ABN's Godfrey Mutizwa spoke to Uledi Mussa, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the EAC Ministry and Nkosana Moyo, Executive Chairman of Mining at the Mandela Institute of Studies. Source: CNBC Africa

East African countries have been advised to formulate a legislation through which Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) into the region can be regulated and monitored.The legislation should make sure that a region doesn't receive FDIs from a country or investment hub where EAC has a direct market. The moment FDI's are allowed from such areas, countries that are trading directly with EAC will benefit even more by taking advantage of the existing trade relations to abuse ways through which investments come into the country. The call was made by the Chairperson and member of the Committee of Trade investments and Communication in the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), Mukasa Mbidde. He was on Friday officiating at a closure of a two day regional meeting on Making Investments Work for the People, organized by the Southern and Eastern Africa Trade, Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI),at Lake Victoria Hotel, Entebbe. The meeting was aimed at enhancing stakeholders' awareness and capacity to understand and appreciate the importance of investment policies and practices that are gender sensitive; protect human rights; protect the environment and address development needs of the EAC region. Mbidde explained that countries where FDIs are coming from are facing challenges like the lack of land for investments, for some, trading quotas have been closed and are now looking out for areas with enough land which they can get for free despite the fact that such land should carry a price. Therefore when they come to EAC countries like Uganda, instead of Uganda...

NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- East African apex business body has complained again over the high level of non tariff barriers that exist during cross border trade.The newly elected East African Business Council (EABC) Chairman Econie Nijimbere said in Nairobi that non tariff barriers add to their transaction costs. "The business community continues to face non-tariff barriers which contribute to the low level of intra-regional trade," Nijimbere said during the EABC 17th Annual General Meeting. During the meeting Nijimbere was elected to replace Dennis Karera who was the previous chairman. The EAC signed the Custom Union protocol in 2005 and a Common Market Protocol in 2010. The Customs union brought about a three band structure for the Common External Tariff for raw materials, intermediate goods and finished goods. Nijimbere said that there are critical gaps and a disparity in the implementation of the two protocols which is in turn creates obstacles for business persons across the region. He said that lack of harmonized standards for goods and services is also hampering trade. EABC Acting Executive Director Lillian Awinja said that the trading bloc has a limited number of harmonized regional standards. "This is a form of non tariff barrier because it leads to expensive and time-consuming re-testing processes at the border points," Awinja said. She said that harmonization of standards should be fast tracked for the 20 most traded goods across the EAC. She noted that currently some products have several standards. Typically, the EAC committee on standards approves a standard for...

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA - The second round of Challenge Fund support for innovators and entrepreneurs working in the logistics and transport sector was launched recently with a financing mechanism in the range of $16m. The Logistics Innovation for Trade (LIFT) Challenge Fund, which is a $16 million (Tsh.35.2 billion) grant-based financial mechanism, supports innovators with good ideas for products or services that can reduce the costs of transport and logistics in East Africa. According to TradeMark Africa (TMA) which is a non-profit organization, LIFT will provide grants ranging from $ 150,000 to $ 1,000,000 (Tsh.330 million to Tsh.2.2billion respectively) to winning proposals from innovators from across the world whose project ideas will be implemented in the East African Community (EAC). East Africa is reported to have the highest freight and transport costs in the world. It is said that the freight costs are over 50% higher than those of the United States and Europe per kilometre. Successful LIFT projects will contribute to TMA’s objective of reducing transport time along the main East Africa transport corridors by 15% by the end of 2016. Dr. Josephat Kweka, Country Director Tanzania, TMA said it was their hope that the entrepreneurs and innovators of the EAC in partnership with their counterparts internationally will drive forward development through the adoption or introduction of ‘best practice’ technologies in the transport and logistics sector, enabling local businesses to compete favorably in the increasingly global economy. “LIFT is a valuable financial instrument that supports private sector ‘can-do’...

On 23rd May, 2016, Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) handed over office equipment to facilitate the Coordination Office of the Northern Corridor Integration Projects at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Headquarters. Amb. James Mugume, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs received the equipment from Mr. Richard Kamajugo, Senior Director for Trade Development, TMA Nairobi Office, during a brief handover ceremony attended by Ms Allen Asiimwe, TMA Country Director for Uganda, Mr. Moses Sabiiti, TMA Program Manager and Senior Officials from the NCIP Coordination Office. The Permanent Secretary conveyed the Ministry’s gratitude to Trade Mark East Africa for the support provided which will complement the resources of the Coordination Office. He pointed out that the Northern Corridor Initiative and Trade Mark East Africa have a common agenda of deepening regional integration, increasing competitiveness, reducing the cost of doing business, enhancing economic growth and improving people’s livelihoods. The equipment provided is valued at USD 29,050, equivalent to UGX 100 million and includes: 01 Heavy Duty Photocopier/Printer 04 Desktop Computers 04 Laptops 02 Projectors 02 Medium Duty mobile printers NCIP Coordination Office Source: Insider

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo argues that African agriculture needs innovation and the youth. Every year, thousands of young Africans migrate from their families’ small, often struggling farms in the countryside. Their dream — sometimes fulfilled, often not — is to find a more rewarding and stimulating life in the continent’s rapidly growing cities. Few return but even fewer ever completely sever their ties. It’s a complicated connection and one I deeply understand. My own exodus to the city as a young man opened up lifetime opportunities that culminated in serving as president of Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy.  But not only did I retain my ties to agriculture, I have now returned to my roots.  I’m a farmer again — at Obasanjo Farms Limited — and I’ve never been happier. Working as a farmer once more has given me a better perspective on two of the biggest challenges facing Africa today: how do we provide employment opportunities to the millions of young Africans under 25 years of age so they can stay in the village and farm? And how do we put an end to the seemingly endless cycles of food crises that are, as I write, playing out again with dismaying familiarity in parts of eastern and southern Africa? US$1 trillion food market Fortunately, more and more Africans such as myself are seeing these issues as intertwined. We see agribusiness as Africa’s biggest opportunity to not only end hunger and malnutrition, but also as Africa’s best hope for generating...

The WTO has published its 2016 Annual Report covering the organization’s activities in 2015 and early 2016. The Report begins with a message from Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, who looks back at a memorable year for the WTO marked by the organization’s 20-year anniversary and the successful conclusion of the WTO’s Tenth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi. The opening section of the Report provides a brief overview of the past year, focusing on the WTO's major areas of activity. The second part provides more in-depth accounts of the WTO's work, covering trade negotiations, implementation of WTO agreements, trade monitoring, dispute settlement, support for developing countries and outreach activity. The Report includes a special focus on the major events of 2015: the 20th anniversary of the WTO; the Nairobi Ministerial Conference; the Fifth Global Review of Aid for Trade; the 2015 Public Forum; and the WTO’s Open Day. The Report is available as a printed publication and a PDF. An app of the report will soon be made available for viewing on tablets and smartphones. This will be available for download from the App Store, Google Play and Amazon. Source: WTO

For millions of Africans with no access to electricity, the old assumption was to wait for the grid to extend to rural areas in an election year. A new report by PwC however suggests that policymakers need to embrace the new renewable off-grid technologies and innovative business models to electrify the 634 million Africans by 2030. John Gibbs, Africa Deals Power & Utility Lead at PwC joins CNBC Africa to breakdown the findings of the report. Source: CNBC Africa

General Electric has partnered with Mara Group and Atlas Merchant Capital in an initiative dedicated to investing in the highly underdeveloped African infrastructure sector. The companies, through a statement, said the joint venture will seek to invest in infrastructure equity projects in selected countries throughout Africa. The region has a plethora of hurdles that need urgent address and they range from electrification, water storage, transportation and port capacity. “More than 50 per cent of our African nations including Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and the DRC, don’t have access to electricity and an infrastructure investment of US$360bn in power production, power transmission, water storage, modern railways, port capacity and modern highways will be required until 2040,” said the statement. “Furthermore, Africa needs to spend $90 billion a year for the next decade in order to upgrade and maintain its existing infrastructure alone.” Africa's population is set to rise to 1.5 billion by 2025 and the surge will bring with it a strain to the current infrastructure. “Africa presents high growth prospects in power generation, transport, oil and gas and other infrastructure areas including mining,” read the statement. “The joint venture will focus on this broad set of segments by facilitating access to capital, thus offering the ability to execute and fully finance both advanced and early development stage projects.” President and CEO of GE Africa, Jay Ireland, said the venture unifies three businesses with a strong commitment and expertise in infrastructure in Africa. The joint venture is our response to an...