That will be decided during the forthcoming African Union meeting slated to take place in the next three months, according to the officials who gathered in Arusha on Thursday 25^th April, 2019.

The proposed African Continental Free Trade Area is not simply a `Free Trade Agreement` it is about establishing a unified continental market with 1.2 billion potential customers and where the private sector is the major engine to make it happen.

This was the tone from the discussions of the meeting held in Arusha about how the East African Private Sector including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) could benefit from the African Continental Free Trading Area (AfCFTA)

The one-day meeting, organized jointly by the East African Business Council (EABC) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), convened close to 40 key players from the region`s private sector. The office for Eastern Africa of ECA estimates large …

The serene rural Tanzanian landscape has wowed more than 1000 tourists from Israel who have just concluded their week-long tour of the country, leaving them planning for more future visits to explore the beauty of the country further.

The visitors from the Middle East have also expressed their admiration of the friendly attitude shown by the Tanzanians who they said were easy to make acquaintance with, noting that Israel stands a good chance of investing in cultural tourism.

The tour guide and leader of the group, Hagit Geffen stated they were surprised by the Tanzanians way of life as most of them seem to live in rural areas far away from towns and cities, and still the government manages to reach out to all these places, providing electricity, water and other essential services.

One of the tourists in the group observed that while back home in Israel people live in …

Members of East Africa`s private sector including small and medium size enterprises are preparing to exploit the over Tshs.2.7 trillion ($1.2 billion) continental market after endorsement of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA).

At their meeting in Arusha on Thursday 25^th April,2019, members of East Africa Business Council (EABC) who teamed up with United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said they foresee large potential gains from the AfCFTA, including an increase in intra-African exports of Eastern Africa by nearly Tshs.2.3 trillion ($1 billion) and job creation of 0.5 to 1.9 million

`Together African economies have a collective gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.5 trillion, making it the 8<sup>th</sup> largest economy in the world. That makes the continent much more attractive to investment, both from within and from outside the continent, ` said Andrew Mold, the acting Director of ECA in Eastern Africa.`This should encourage business people to …

While considerably new, Islamic Banking and Finance has now taken firm roots in Russia and other Commonwealth Independent States (CIS) countries are following suit.

The total volume of Islamic Banking and Finance has now exceeded $2.6 trillion globally. This amount represents transactions, assets and investments by over 2,500 Islamic banking and financial institutions around the global.

In the modern era, Islamic banking and finance can be traced back to the 1960s from Egypt and Malaysia and its dramatic spread over the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Interestingly, while Islamic banking and finance was slow to take foot in Commonwealth Independent States (CIS) countries, its unprecedented growth over the last few years indicates that CIS countries are the emerging Islamic banking and finance market for the future.

Some well known CIS countries include Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.

“The delay for Islamic finance initiative in CIS countries …

Kenya flower exporters make $259,000 deals in the US.

Kenya flowers are attracting the interest of American flower buyers. A recent event in Dallas, USA saw Kenyan flower growers exhibit at the show with a total of $259,000 in deals with the US customers.

The Kenyan flowers are getting a fare review in continental US following the introduction of a direct flight from Nairobi to New York last year which has eased cargo and passenger movements.

Flower growers from Kenya have been waiting long for the moment that they could enter the enormous US market with Kenyan grown flowers. Shipping directly to the US market without having to reload the flowers somewhere in Europe, affecting both their freshness and cost price, was simply not possible until now.

During the Dallas event, over 12 flower growers booked and exhibited  at the edition.

World Floral Expo is a trade show that offers …

Kenya has deferred extension of the SGR project, secures avocado deal

As global leaders and the business community met in Beijing, China, for the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF), Kenyan’s were keenly watching to see what will unravel.

The forum which took place last week brought together about 37 Heads of States, top government officials and business leaders from over 100 countries, who met to discuss issues of inter-continental connectivity for global trade.

A project of President Xi Jinping, China is using the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to enhance both China’s development and its cooperation with global partners.

President Uhuru Kenyatta led a strong delegation from Kenya to the summit which also included High Level Heads of State Meetings and sideline business forums.

It had earlier been expected the government will use the Beijing meeting to secure additional funds from China for construction of Phase …

The first batch is intended to test the international markets

Kenyan crude oil could test the global markets before the end of this year, latest developments indicate, as stocks of the commodity continue to pile up at a storage facility in the port city of Mombasa.

In its latest operational update for the period January 1-April 25, 2019, British firm-Tullow Oil plc (Tullow), says the first export cargo is expected in the third quarter of 2019, even as exploration and drilling intensifies in the Turkana region.

This comes as the Early Oil Pilot Scheme continues to truck 600 barrels of oil per day (bopd) to Mombasa, where 80,000 barrels of oil are being stored ahead of export.

READ:Kenya oil exports gains momentum as Tullow bounces back to profitability

The crude oil from the Turkana oil fields is being stored at the defunct Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd (KPRL) (refinery) facility …

By 2022, the value of Kenya’s and Uganda’s ICT sector is projected to be US$1.7 billion and US$1.33 billion, respectively.

The 4^th edition of Nairobi Tech Week (NTW2019), has launched the IT Skills Gap Report.

The report entitled The Development of IT Skills and Jobs in Kenya and Uganda, provides insights and recommendations on what Kenya and Uganda need to do in order to fully benefit from digitalisation.

The Report which is a collaboration between Mercy Corps and Moringa School explores the sources, nature and size of the existing IT skills gap in Kenya and Uganda. The importance of the Report is compounded by the well-documented growth of and joblessness within Africa’s youth population.

Stacey Ondimu, Country Director Moringa School noted, “Providing our youth with the right skills, will help us address one of the key barriers to the growth of Africa’s tech sector. The Report should help …

China dominates as Kenya’s top import source globally 

Uganda is Kenya’s biggest trading partner within the East Africa Community (EAC), latest data show, with China dominating the global scene.

The Economic survey (2019) shows total trade volumes (import and exports) between Kenya and Uganda in the year 2018, were valued at Ksh111.3 billion (USD1.09 billion).

Tanzania comes in a distant second with a total trade value of Ksh47.6 billion (USD468.9 million) while Rwanda is third with Ksh19 billion (USD187.2 million).

Trade with DR Congo, South Sudan and Burundi, mainly export markets for Kenya, were valued at Ksh15.2 billion (USD149.6 million), Ksh12.9 billion (USD127.1 million) and Ksh6.6 billion (USD65.02 million) respectively.

Uganda

During the year under review, Uganda increased the value of its exports to Kenya by 17.6 per cent to close at Ksh49.4 billion (USD486.7 million), from Ksh42 billion (USD413.8 million) in 2017.

READ:Uganda keen on enhancing exports to

The total volume of Islamic Banking and Finance has been exceeded $2.6 trillion globally. The growth of the Islamic banking and finance volume in different continents and regions is continuous with the positive node but sometime its vary region to region.

Due to the reason, about 2,500+ Islamic banking and financial institutions are working in every region including both Muslims and non-Muslim countries. In the current era, Islamic banking and finance started in 1960s from Egypt and Malaysia and dramatically spread over the Middle East, Africa, Europe and other regions.

The growth of this phenomenon swiftly increased in Middle East, South and East Asia whereas, in some regions, the growth of the industry was comparatively slow as in Northern African (Tunis, Morocco, Algeria etc.), Central Asian and Balkan countries. But keeping in view the Islamic banking and finance industry initiative was taken very late in Commonwealth Independent States (CIS) countries …