The East Africa Community's conference of women in business was launched at the KICC in Nairobi on Thursday. The event brought together women from Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya to share their experiences about doing business in their countries. It was also a forum for them to network with their sisters from across the region. The main speakers were East Africa Community secretary general Amb Richard Sezibera, East Africa Community, Trade and Tourism cabinet secretary Phyllis Kandie and National Assembly deputy speaker Joyce Laboso. Also in attendance were the East Africa women in business chair Dorothy Tuma, KNCCI women in business chair Martha Mugambi and UNDP inclusive business adviser Minaj Nieminen. Source: All Africa

Kampala — The Common Market for East and Southern Africa (Comesa) has started the process of harmonising standards of maize grain, a move meant to resolve the dispute between Uganda and Kenya. According to Comesa sanitary and phytosanitary expert Martha Byanyima, Uganda and Kenya have had a problem of standards of maize grain with Kenya at times rejecting the Ugandan produce or subjecting it to double testing to ensure conformity. In the process, traders incur extra costs and encounter delays to deliver their products because of the variation in standards of the maize grains in the East African Community (EAC). Speaking at a workshop in Kampala organised by Comesa in partnership with Uganda National Bureau of Standards to discuss how to end the problem between the two countries, Ms Byanyima said the problem came as a result of misinterpretation of the set standards of the grain. "We have a lot of barriers in the EAC, and the industry has been reporting to us that grain from Uganda to Kenya is declassified and brought to a lower grade that attracts lower prices. The traders also say the environment is so unpredictable and very subjective to things they don't know," Byanyima said. Despite the fact that the two countries are under one regional trade bloc and grow the same plant, Kenya classifies its maize grain differently from that of Uganda. Implementation UNBS' role. In The deputy executive director of Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) Patricia Ejalu said the bureau is providing...

The official statements are clear: Regional leaders and policymakers want to make the 26-member Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) the main stepping stone towards the gradual establishment of the Continental FTA (CFTA) comprising the 54 members of the African Union. Indeed, during the June 2015 African Union Summit in Johannesburg leaders ambitiously insisted that the negotiations on goods and services for the establishment of the CFTA be concluded by 2017. High-level political will seems to be strong. The challenge, now, is to convert this political will into something more than a paper agreement. The importance of stakeholder involvement The real effectiveness any trade agreement (or the expansion of an existing one) ultimately depends on the support and the involvement of the key stakeholders—most importantly the private sector—in the design and the implementation. Surprisingly, the regional private sector has not been vocal about its support for either the TFTA or the CFTA. The absence of vigorous national debates about the pros and cons of these agreements has been quite notable. In many countries, the prevailing attitude of the business community ranges from a cautious optimism to a wait-and-see approach. Perhaps this lack of interest is due to a lack of mobilization or consultation at the local level. Or it could be due to a lack of understanding regarding the stakes and potential benefits from what many consider a top-down process. These stakeholders will ultimately put pressure on governments to pursue or reject steps to the CFTA. Thus, in order to comprehend...

East Africa entrepreneur Ali Mufuruki and former WTO Director General Pascal Lamy part of TradeMark Africa’s 11 member board Nairobi – August 25th, 2015 – TradeMark Africa (TMA) today announced the appointment a new Board of Directors. This follows successful completion of a rigorous appointment process of highly-experienced East African nationals. Chaired by Tanzanian entrepreneur Ali Mufuruki, the new Board comprises leading business and civil society professionals in East Africa. Former World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General Pascal Lamy joins the Board as Special Advisor. In 2013, TMA embarked on a process of developing its governance arrangements. TMA’s investors assume a shareholder role with a day to day oversight of the organisation undertaken by the independent Board. The appointment of the Board members is a strong endorsement of TMA as an inclusive and results driven organisation whose key mandate is to increase prosperity in East Africa. TMA funding has grown to a US$700m budget since its inception in 2010 with presence in all EAC Partner States and South Sudan. "I am proud to welcome such an experienced pool of industry professionals to the board of TradeMark Africa," said Ali Mufuruki, Board Chairman of TMA. "We conducted an exhaustive search for individuals who have proven track records in their respective professions, and are delighted to have identified such outstanding individuals. These board members who comprise professionals from both government, donor institutions and the private sector, bring extensive international and regional expertise in the development sector, executive management and the donor community...

LAST month I attended the African Leadership Forum in the Tanzanian capital of Dar es Salaam on the theme of Moving Towards an Integrated Africa. The meeting was hosted by former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa’s Uongozi Institute and was attended by former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria), Festus Mogae (Botswana), Jerry Rawlings (Ghana), Bakili Muluzi (Malawi) and Hifikepunye Pohamba (Namibia), as well as civil society actors. Delivering the keynote address was Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who has long fancied himself a "Bismarck of East Africa", with dreams of creating a political federation in a subregion consisting of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda. His address pushed for a larger East African market to increase the leverage of the subregion to negotiate more effectively with external actors. Citing the high level of cultural integration in the subregion — reinforced by the common lingua franca of Swahili — he called for a political union, noting that for such efforts to succeed, East African leaders would need to explain to their 140-million citizens how regional integration could enhance their prosperity and security. I had the opportunity, from the audience, to challenge Museveni — who has been in power for 29 years — on the issue of presidential term limits, noting that on assuming office in 1986, he had criticised African leaders for overstaying in power. Museveni deflected the question by arguing that the issue was not about overstaying in power, but rather overstaying "in the resistance" — presumably to "neocolonialism". Contradicting his reputation as...

East Africa stands to make about $2.6 billion annually from Kenya’s northern transport corridor, new sea ports and other mega infrastructure facilities upon completion, global consulting firm Frost & Sullivan has said. The firm said oil and gas finds will become catalysts for investment in trade logistics facilities. Industries that will benefit from infrastructure developments include hydrocarbons, mining, agriculture and retail sector. The Lamu Port Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) corridor, comprising a crude oil export pipeline, a refined products pipeline, railways and roads linked to Uganda, Ethiopia and South Sudan, will open a new corridor in Kenya that will contribute to reducing the cost of transport. The Lamu and Bagamoyo ports are being built to expand the region’s capacity to handle goods. Bagamoyo port alone will have the capacity to handle 20 million twenty-foot equivalent unit (teu) per year. “Global and local logistics service providers will need to develop flexible end-to-end solutions to service construction and exploration work prompted by new discoveries,” Frost & Sullivan’s research analyst Siphesihle Hlela said. The public sector is investing heavily in major projects such as the $3.8 billion Mombasa-Nairobi standard gauge railway (SGR), which aims to connect Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan. The SGR is expected to raise Kenya’s gross domestic product by 1.5 per cent while enabling landlocked countries to export coffee, tea, agricultural goods and minerals. SGR will also handle imports. Mr Hlela said there is a race among global logistics providers to secure market share either through green investments or...

As Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza begins his controversial third term in office, the whole of East Africa will soon feel the effects of a donor freeze occasioned by his decision to extend his stay in power. The EAC faces a funding crisis that could see many of its projects stall as donors call for the isolation of Burundi. Sources within the EAC Secretariat and the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) in Arusha confirmed to The EastAfrican that GIZ, a leading German global development agency, has asked the bloc to exclude Burundi from all programmes that the agency funds on regional integration. Asked to explain the decision, a representative of GIZ said the organisation “is a not a donor agency but an implementing agency for the German government” and instead referred us to the Ministry of Economic Co-operation and Development in Berlin. The threat to withhold funding may derail regional integration, expose the bloc to a future funding crisis, and put several key infrastructure projects at risk. Western development partners have already announced several measures against Burundi that would lead to the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars annually in aid, over President Pierre Nkurunziza’s controversial re-election. The US has suspended several security co-operation agreements with Burundi, and according to Thomas Greenfield, the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, a decision to remove the country from Agoa will come “sooner rather than later.” European nations led by Belgium, France and The Netherlands have also cut aid to Burundi. And...

EAST African countries have been advised to harmonize grain standards at all border posts to improve on the quality of grains traded in the region. This follows increased interest in grain trade across the border in which farmers are likely to lose out simply because those trading their grains are not following the required standards in grain trade. The findings from a two year study indicate that there are only four officials at the three border points applying the EAC standards for maize and rice in their entirety. This means that the set standards are not being followed as a reference document when goods are being checked even though the officials are aware of the standards. This is according to a report on Farmers Integration into Regional Markets through Structured Trade projects that was implemented by the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF), supported by USAID. Stephen Muchiri, the Chief executive Director of EAFF blames this on the low numbers of staff, especially at Busia border post which has only one staff member handling the trade facilitation of all agriculture commodities. "This one staff is responsible for verifying import and export documents, sampling agricultural commodities, working with their counter parts on the Kenyan side in addition to conducting spot checks along the irregular informal trade routes," quotes the report. The findings are further backed by recent findings by the EAC standards committee that visited border areas in November last year, which noted that only 60% of EAC standards had been adopted...

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - The Federal Republic of Germany has given a grant of 70 million euro for development cooperation within the East African Community (EAC). This happened in Dar es Salaam last week. Some 30 million euro about. $33.4 million is committed specifically to the health sector. A joint statement between the Federal republic of Germany and the EAC of which East African Business Week has a copy shows that in total 30 million Euros approximately $ 33.4 (Tsh.68 billion) will be invested in vaccines and health supply chain management. The statement also indicates that earlier in 2015 Germany hosted the record replenishment of the Global Vaccination Alliance (GAVI) as a result an additional 300 million children will receive live-saving vaccines, including in the EAC. “German bilateral cooperation will now provide 20 million euro (Tsh.44 billion) for the procurement of vaccines against different diseases for children in the EAC region,” reads part of the statement. The programme will be implemented in collaboration with GAVI and this new commitment will bring Germany`s contribution to regional immunisations programmes with the EAC region to 60 million Euros (Tsh.132 billion) since 2012. Inappropriate cooling systems result in high volumes of vaccines being wasted before they reach the people that need them and this is why Germany will also support the establishment of the EAC Regional Centre of Excellence for Health Supply Chain Management in Kigali with 10 million Euros (Tsh.22 billion). The Centre will strengthen capacities and foster the dissemination of innovation...

Economists in the region are advocating for innovative thinking as a mechanism to jumpstart African integration, something that has been proving to be elusive for long. Speaking during the plenary session of the building bridges East Africa regional workshop on developing national business communities and regional integration organised by UONGOZI Institute in Dar es Salaam, a World Bank consultant, Mr John Kalisa said that currently the business community was facing many hurdles. "Increasingly due to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates with the US Dollar, the East African business community is losing out a lot because of the exchange rates with doing business and only innovative ways are the answer," he said. Mr Kalisa cited that the cost of doing business in most regions of the continent are very high due to these exchange rates and therefore Rwanda and Kenya are in dialogue such that their business community can use their own currencies in the other country. He said as China continues to be an aggressive investor in the region, a number of countries in the EAC are laying out mechanisms such that they can directly exchange their currencies into the yuan instead of first changing into US dollar. "For regional integration on a continent as diverse as Africa, the way forward is to expand market size through market integration, collaborate in building productive and industrial capacity and develop affordable, effective infrastructure and services to lower the cost of doing business," he cited. A fellow of the London School of Economics...