Trending
- Africa’s quest to unlock trillion-dollar food economy potential
- Partners back AIM Congress 2024 vision for global economic stewardship
- AIM Congress 2024: pre-event forums set the stage for strategic insights on global showcase
- Kenya, Tanzania braces for torrential floods as Cyclone Hidaya approaches
- EAC monetary affairs committee to discuss single currency progress in Juba talks
- Falling transport and food costs drive down Kenya’s inflation to 5 per cent in April
- Payment for ransomware attacks increase by 500 per cent in one year
- History beckons as push for Kenya’s President Ruto to address US Congress gathers pace
Regional Markets
- East Africa’s economic growth is projected to grow at 5.3 and 5.8 per cent in 2024 and 2025-26, respectively.
- The World Bank projects African economies to grow by 3.4 per cent in 2024.
- However, faster and more equitable growth is needed to reduce poverty.
East Africa’s economic growth to lead the continent
Economies in East Africa are expected to spearhead growth in Sub-Saharan Africa this year amid increased private consumption and declining inflation, which are supporting an economic rebound in the region.
The World Bank’s latest Africa’s Pulse report indicates the East African Community is projected to grow at the fastest pace at 5.3 and 5.8 per cent in 2024 and 2025–2026, respectively, thanks to robust growth in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.
This is higher than the compounded growth for Sub-Sahara Africa, which, albeit rebounding from a low of 2.6 per cent in 2023, is …
- Kenya is keen on extending its pipeline to Malaba (Kenya-Uganda border), with Uganda expected to construct a link line to Kampala.
- According to the Shippers Council of Eastern Africa (SCEA), Mombasa used to command up to 70% of transit business, but this has decreased to 60 per cent.
- Uganda imports an average of 2.5 billion litres of petroleum annually, valued at about $2 billion, with KPC handling at least 90 per cent of the volumes.
Kenya is courting Uganda in a fresh bid to retain and possibly increase petroleum exports amid increased competition from neighbouring Tanzania. In recent months, East Africa’s economic powerhouse has come under pressure from Tanzania, which is eyeing to tap more transit markets for imports and exports into the hinterland through the Dar es Salaam Port.
In the latest developments, Tanzania has offered to license Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) to import petroleum products through Dar …
- Kenya’s equity market has received an upgrade on its classification by the FTSE Russel Index from “Restricted’ to “Pass” on the repatriation of capital and income.
- This development partly indicates that Kenya is now a maturing market, characterised by increased transparency, liquidity, and a growing investor confidence.
- Across Africa, data shows that an estimated $700 million was reported held in 11 African countries, with Nigeria accounting for the lion’s share.
FTSE Russell, a global provider of analytics, benchmarks and data services, has endorsed the Nairobi Securities Exchange Plc (NSE), ushering a new era in Kenya’s financial services industry. The NSE has announced that as of March 2024, the Nairobi bourse has been reclassified by the FTSE Russell Governance Board, moving from a “restricted” to a “pass” status.
This pivotal change is not just a mark of progress, but a move to underscore the resilience and strategic navigation of the Kenyan …
The International Monetary Fund projects that Rwanda will post 7 per cent growth in 2022
- Rwanda weathered the Covid-19 pandemic to hit double-digit growth of 10.3 per cent for 2021
- Rwanda’s life expectancy has risen from 49 in 2000 to 66.6 in 2017, while extreme poverty fell from 40 per cent to 16 per cent
The economic growth in East Africa is expected to flourish with the admission of the DRC to the East African Community (EAC).
This move increases the region’s bargaining power and has offered an alternative port of entry that will facilitate international trade. It has also turned the focus to the region and its economic impact on the continent and the world at large.
Among the seven countries in East Africa, Rwanda has reported the most rapid economic growth in the region.
Over the years, Rwanda has endeared itself to the donor community: a nation where …
For starters, this is good news for the landlocked countries. It means that the landlocked countries in the EAC including Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan now have another coastal gateway away from the East African one in Kenya and Tanzania.
In addition, all the partner states have better bargaining power when it comes to trading with other blocs on the continent or internationally.
With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the deal gets even sweeter.
Continent-wide, fully implementing the AfCFTA will increase intra-African trade with the elimination of duties. Projections show that by just reducing non-tariff barriers (NTBs), intra-African trade could double.…
“Concerning the management of the mineral resources sector, the Partner States agree, among other things, to promote joint exploration, efficient exploitation and sustainable utilization of shared mineral resources,” the treaty reads in part. The World Bank notes that DRC’s natural resources are diverse and immense in its country report. The country has the world’s second-largest primary humid tropical rainforest endowment and carbon sink globally.
“However, forest loss rates have accelerated in recent years, and in 2020, the DRC lost 1.31 million ha of natural forest, equivalent to 854 million tonnes of CO₂ of emissions. This has had deleterious environmental impacts (including rainfall patterns, biodiversity, and climate change) and is threatening the livelihoods of the 35 million people who depend on forest resources,” World Bank says in the report.
World Bank’s collaborations in energy sector investments have been intended to rehabilitate transmission networks and hydropower plants, raise Inga’s electricity production by …
In the construction sector, the price of steel and cement has increased exponentially. And, things are not getting better.
The Kenya Transporters Association has instructed its members across the country to raise freight rates by at least 5 per cent in order to maintain their companies under the current circumstances. The notification issued on March 14 was to help the freighters avoid a total collapse of the sector.
In a petition to parliament, the Consumers Federation of Kenya called for the elimination or reduction of the current 16.5 per cent value-added tax on liquefied petroleum gas to 8.5 per cent.
Pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) put the treasury under pressure to increase the VAT on all petroleum goods in 2018. The IMF said that the implementation of the VAT would ensure that the government is able to meet its financial obligations.…
The EACOP is a 1,443km pipeline that is been constructed at a value of 3.5 Billion USD. These funds are been directly injected into the economies of Uganda and Tanzania effectively increasing their FDI by over 60 % during the construction phase alone.
The magnanimous project is been constructed and operated through a shareholding approach among several stakeholders including the government of Uganda through the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), the government of Tanzania through the Tanzanian Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), France’s Totalenergies and China’s CNOOC.
It is expected that through the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, the region’s East Africa’s oil potential. It will effectively attract investors and companies to explore the region’s oil potential. Further still, as new infrastructure projects commence in line with the pipeline, it will greatly contribute to the enhancement of the central corridor between Uganda and Tanzania.…
Kenya has a meat deficit of 300,000 metric tonnes annually shortage making it hard to satisfy the country’s meat demands…
