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Industry and Trade
- For Africa, the answer to “how many registered voters in the United States” is more than a number. It influences the course of global partnerships, including US and Africa trade ties.
- At the ballot, the US electorate influence trade agreements, security partnerships, the flow of aid, and direction on climate action.
- From frozen foreign aid to bilateral trade deals, every ballot cast by one of roughly 168M registered voters in the US holds the power to shape the future.
“How many registered voters in the United States?” This is the question that routinely spikes in online searches ahead of presidential elections in America. While the answer—currently over 168 million registered voters according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission—may seem like a mere domestic statistic, the weight of their vote poses political and socioeconomic implications stretch far beyond the US shores.
In an era of global diplomacy and strategic partnerships, the …
- Afreximbank is set to equip traders with vital tools to navigate both tariff and non-tariff barriers in AfCFTA.
- In a June 30 to July 2, 2025, forum in Abuja, the lender will coach both prospective and existing exporters on emerging intra-Africa trade issues.
- So far, limited understanding of AFCFTA’s technical and operational aspects has barred many firms from leveraging the bloc’s benefits.
Lender Afreximbank is rolling out a bespoke training, targeting traders across Africa with key insights on how to leverage on the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the world’s largest trading bloc by member countries, to grow their investments.
Statistics show that ntra-African trade has the potential to increase by over 52 per cent this year if the AfCFTA is fully implemented, and could reach a value of over $70 billion annually in the short term.
Furthermore, studies by the United Nations Economic Commission …
- IMF urges countries to broaden the tax base, increase tax rates where applicable, reduce arbitrary exemptions.
- Lender seeks a predictable and progressive tax code, coupled with corporate income and property tax collection.
- IMF says strengthened tax collection capacity, integrity and accountability, including through digitalization, can yield significant revenues for countries.
A weakening demand across the world markets, lower prices of key commodities and tight financial markets are set to deal a body blow to economic growth in Africa in 2025. Faced with this uncertainty, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is proposing a number of measures for policymakers including increasing taxes, labour reforms, and changes in the running of State-Owned Enterprises.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) latest projections, Sub Saharan Africa’s growth is set to ease to 3.8 per cent this year before posting 4.2 per cent expansion next year. This reflects a downward revision of 0.4 percentage point …
- Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o said the public debt stock increased by 3% from KSh10.58 trillion as of June 2024, to KSh10.93 trillion as of December 2024.
- Nyakang’o said major funds, including the Housing Fund, the Railway Development Fund, and the Petroleum Levy, are not part of the Consolidated Fund.
- She has raised concerns about the government’s reliance on overdrafts from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to service both domestic and external debt.
Kenya’s Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakango is calling for the adoption of prudent strategies focused on debt management and revenue collection reforms to check the country’s piling debt. According to her, allocation towards servicing the public debt in the financial year 2024-2025 is set at KSh1.91 trillion, compared to KSh1.87 trillion in 2023-2024, with the country’s average time to maturity for public debt reducing to 7.8 years, down from 9.4 years in 2023.
The allocation comprised …
- Excelsa coffee, a century-old discovery from South Sudan, is gaining global attention amid a climate-induced coffee industry crisis.
- Climate change is devastating top coffee producers like Brazil, causing a 12% output decline and record-high prices.
- As extreme weather threatens global coffee supply, Excelsa is emerging as a potential resilient alternative.
At the moment, a century-old discovery from South Sudan, Excelsa coffee, is the name on every coffee connoisseur’s lips. The wonder bean is now making waves in the global coffee scene as climate change tightens its grip on the world’s leading coffee-growing regions, manifesting by faltering production amid soaring prices. As the industry search for solutions, Excelsa is emerging as a potential game-changer.
According to the Global Coffee Market 2024 report, Brazil—the world’s top coffee producer—is set to suffer a 12 per cent decline in output due to extreme weather. The same fate is unfolding across other coffee-growing powerhouses, …
- The tussle comes at a time that the harvesting period for mature macadamia nuts in Kenya has just started since 1st March, 2025.
- Lobby MACNUT and macadamia farmers have called for the regulation of selling prices across the nation.
- However, the Nut Traders Association of Kenya (NUTAK) contends that an onging ban disproportionately favours processors.
Kenya’s macadamia sector is in turmoil following a ban on raw macadamia imports, ripening nuts, and ongoing disputes over the industry’s future. Stakeholders are at a crossroads, with two rival lobbies clashing over export policies. While the government enforces the ban to boost local processing, industry players remain divided on its impact.
Macadamia Nut Association (MACNUT) declared support for the government’s ban on exporting unprocessed nuts, while The Nut Traders Association of Kenya (NUTAK) contends that the ban disproportionately favours processors.
According to MACNUT the move to stop raw imports could inject over $80 million …
- African countries undermine their economic growth by prioritising trade with Europe and the United States over regional markets.
- How do we ensure that African countries trade among themselves? asks Dr. Phenyo Butale, Botswana’s Minister of International Relations.
- “We [Botswana] have high-quality beef in Botswana and the North West province, we export it to the European Union, yet Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo buy their beef from Brazil. Does that make sense? It doesn’t,” says Dr. Butale.
Despite its vast resources and production capacity, regional trade in Africa remains low with many economies relying heavily on overseas markets. This state of affairs has prompted Botswana to raise the alarm about low levels of intra-African trade.
“It’s disheartening that Africa is still unable to realise trade among its countries,” said Dr Phenyo Butale, Botswana’s Minister of International Relations, delivering a lecture in honour of the late South African Deputy …
- Kenyan women lead region in entrepreneurship spirit, with older women leading the younger pack.
- Women (49%) are more likely than men (37%) to be uncertain about how to protect their business from cyberattacks.
- Among women founders in Kenya, 45 per cent started their business to follow their dream.
Kenyan women are outshining their regional peers in entrepreneurial spirit, with nine out of 10 considering starting or running their own businesses, a new survey by Mastercard has shown. Compared to the region, 93 per cent of Kenyan women consider starting or running their own business, way above the Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EEMEA) average of 51 per cent.
According to the survey, older generations in Kenya, including Baby Boomers (93 per cent) and Gen X (90 per cent), are slightly more likely to view themselves as entrepreneurs compared to the 85 per cent of Gen Z, and 89 …
- Stryk Global Diplomacy picked to spearhead talks on oil and gas between Africa and U.S. President Donald Trump.
- The deal aims at ensuring that Africa’s energy interests are well represented in U.S. legislative and policy discussions.
- “Africans need energy to fix energy poverty issues and spur economic growth,” said Stryk Global Diplomacy.
The African Energy Chamber (AEC) —a lobby that represents the African energy sector–has enlisted the services of a global consulting firm, Stryk Global Diplomacy (SGD), to spearhead talks on oil and gas between the continent and U.S. President Donald Trump administration.
In an update on Tuesday, the African Energy Chamber said the move aims at ensuring that Africa’s energy interests are effectively represented in U.S. legislative and policy discussions.
“Stryk is a super Lobbyist. He understands Africa and he gets results. He is adaptive and forward-thinking. He achieves results by building consensus. I am confident he is going …
