Author: James Ndwaru

• Africa’s agribusiness sector is undergoing significant transformations driven by population growth, urbanisation, technological advancements, and shifting consumer preferences.
• Alongside their role in stimulating economic growth, agribusiness and agro-industrial development have the potential to reduce poverty and foster social and economic growth. 
• Technological advancements and digital transformations are revolutionising agribusiness in Africa, offering transformative opportunities.

Africa’s agribusiness sector potential

Agribusiness in Africa is undergoing significant transformations driven by population growth, urbanisation, technological advancements, and shifting consumer preferences. As a continent with abundant agricultural resources, Africa holds immense potential for agribusiness development.

African economic growth remains commodity-based, mainly on commodity exports, with minimal processing and value addition involved. To foster sustainable and inclusive growth and development in Africa, there is an urgent need to promote a new development approach based on exploiting the continent’s full agribusiness potential.

Some pressing issues call for a reorientation to support agribusiness and agro-industrial development, namely, poverty …

• Kenya’s economic resurgence in 2024 proving a reality following a notable upturn in recent months, marked by positive indicators across sectors.
• According to CBK, leading indicators point to the continued strong performance of the Kenyan economy in the first quarter of 2024.
• According to the World Bank, Kenya’s economic growth is projected to be 5.2 per cent, boosted by increased investment in the private sector as the government reduces its activities in the domestic credit market.

A strong rebound

Kenya’s economic prospects are looking brighter, attributed to the interventions by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which have played a massive role in easing volatility witnessed less than three months ago.

Major economic indicators in the country show that confidence is slowly creeping back after the government secured the International Monetary Fund’s facility to pay back the Eurobond.

The repayments had triggered volatility in financial markets, including the …

Africa’s agritech potential is immense. Agriculture can help solve various issues, including food security, poverty reduction, and economic transformation. However, technology is needed to revolutionise agriculture and solve farming and agricultural challenges.…

• Following a slow recovery from the debilitating impact of COVID-19, Africa’s economic growth declined to an estimated 3.8 per cent in 2022 and later deteriorated to 3. (https://rescueresponse.com) 3 per cent in 2023.
• Africa is not immune to economic shocks and has recently faced a multi-crisis situation.
• African countries have posted more than 5 per cent output expansions in 2024.

Africas economic outlook

Before COVID-19, Africa experienced 20 years of solid growth and made tangible economic and social progress. However, the COVID crisis brought this progress to an abrupt halt, and many countries, which are under increasingly tight budget constraints, struggled to invest in essential sectors amidst recovering from the aftermath of the health crisis.

Following a slow recovery from the debilitating impact of COVID-19, Africa’s economic growth declined to an estimated 3.8 per cent in 2022 and later deteriorated to 3.3 per cent in 2023.

However, according …

• Non-tariff trade barriers are restrictions trade blocs impose to further their political and economic goals.
• Kenya and Tanzania are working on resolving non-tariff trade barriers that have stifled business between East Africa’s largest economies.
• Kenya is a crucial partner for Tanzania and is the largest source of African Foreign Direct Investment in Tanzania.

The East African Community

Countries have adopted regional trading blocs as a strategy to increase global competitiveness. The East African Community (EAC) member states are dedicated to enhancing economic efficiency and fostering regional integration through strategic investments using established industries.

EAC aims to position the Community as a single investment area, harmonising trade policies, investment incentives, and product standards.

At the beginning of its operations, EAC ended non-trade barriers (NTB) between member countries intending to liberalise trade. However, this affected the NTB imposed by the members, especially Kenya and Tanzania, who are critical traders in the market.…

• Tourism in Kenya is the third-biggest foreign exchange earner after remittances and agricultural exports.
• The tourism sector’s performance has been impressive, with earnings reaching $ 2.7 billion in 2023, a 32 per cent growth from $1.8 billion recorded in 2022.
• In 2024, the sector is projected to recover to pre-pandemic levels per the strategy for tourism in Kenya 2021-2025.

Tourism in Kenya

Tourism is Kenya’s third-highest foreign exchange earner after remittances and agricultural exports.

According to the Tourism Research Institute, the industry accounts for about 10 per cent of Kenya’s gross domestic product and about 5 per cent of its formal employment.

Kenya has been a significant tourist destination in East Africa, attracting visitors worldwide to its wildlife parks, sandy beaches at the coast, diverse flora and fauna, cultural heritage, and scenic landscapes, to name a few.

However, the outbreak of COVID-19 sent shockwaves to the tourism sector, bringing it …

• The IMF has approved an expansion of the original economic rescue program for Egypt by $5 billion.
• Spillovers from the recent conflict in Gaza and Israel aggravated the shaky economic situation in Egypt.
• Egypt has recently taken difficult but necessary reforms to correct the country’s microeconomic imbalance.

IMF’s Economic Rescue Program for Egypt

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the first and second reviews of Egypt’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF)arrangement, approving an expansion of the original economic rescue program by $5 billion.

The IMF had initially approved a $3 billion loan in December 2022 but has …

• The Central Bank of Nigeria has decided to increase the minimum capital requirement for lenders to bolster the country’s economy.
• Nigerian banks now face weaker capital ratios and higher impaired loans.
• The last time Nigeria recapitalised its banking sector dates back to 2004.

Minimum capital requirement for lenders

Following the surge in inflation levels, a deteriorating economy, and the plummeting of the Naira, the CBN has decided to increase the minimum capital requirement for lenders to bolster the country’s economy.

Under the new regulations, the Central Bank of Nigeria has raised the capital threshold for international banks to $359 million …

• The situation involving Binance in Nigeria has turned sour due to several events.
• For a few years, the Binance marketplace seemed to work well enough, but in 2023, the Nigerian government ended the naira’s peg to the US dollar as part of sweeping economic reforms.
• In what is now a testament to the sprained relationship between Binance and Nigeria, the authorities filed tax evasion charges against the cryptocurrency exchange.

Binance Under Regulatory Spotlight

Binance’s journey from a small start-up to one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges globally has been impressive but not a smooth run. The platform’s rapid growth and global expansion brought it under the regulatory spotlight globally.

• Sudan’s humanitarian crisis is the worst in recent history, according to the United Nations.
• One-third of Sudan’s population, that is, 18 million people, are facing acute food insecurity, while 730,000 Sudanese children are believed to be suffering from severe malnutrition.
• World Food Programme(WFP) has delivered food to over 5.2 million people within Sudan since conflicts started in April.

Sudan’s humanitarian crisis

The United Nations Humanitarian Office has warned that Sudan is on the verge of facing the worst humanitarian crisis in recent history. Key drivers of this situation include intensified conflict and growing inter-communal violence, an economic crisis, soaring prices of food, fuel and essential goods, and below-average agricultural production.

“By all measures – the sheer scale of humanitarian needs, the numbers of people displaced and facing hunger – Sudan is one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory,” Edem Wosornu, director of operations at the UN Office for …