Covid-19's impact on transportation in East Africa has been the greatest impediment to trade in the entire region. Due to the multiple medical tests that drivers are forced to undertake, the wait period has been a critical hinderance on goods being delivered on time. This has drastically changed much of the supply of goods and services from the two key ports of the region, namely the Mombasa Port in Kenya and the Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania.  

With the global pandemic continuing its tirade, no corner in the world is spared.  Trade in Eastern Africa has severely been affected by internal and regional barriers inhibiting competitiveness of regional goods and services.  

Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, for example, the port of Mombasa, the busiest in East Africa, handled approximately 27 million tonnes of cargo and processing more than one million containers. Following the pandemic, however, the

The African art market has been on an exponential upward growth trajectory prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, but most recently is teetering on the brink of a precipice, thrusting many artists in a conundrum; the status quo, only to be likened to painting a hollow canvas. According to the Clare McAndrew’s report, ‘The Art Market 2020’,90% of art dealers had projected an increase in sales, heading into 2020, but the global pandemic has been diminishing this optimism and momentum. The latest Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, indicates that global art sales achieved a total of $64.1 billion in 2019, 5% decrease from the 67.4 billion of 2018.  

The African art scene has long remained unseen, but the last five years have been profoundly fundamental in the growth of this budding industry. It has brought about a renaissance; crossing over a

A man is dying of thirst yet he is surrounded by fresh water. That is the irony of the African farmer. The African farmer is surrounded by fertile land and two rainfall seasons yet he is poor and has very little yield.

By all accounts Africa should be feeding the world. Most of the continent is miles and miles of fertile land. Since most of Africa is on the equator or just a few degrees above, it experiences tropical weather that is characterized by two high rainfall peaks.

So why does Africa not produce enough food to feed itself and the rest of the world? Simple, Africa’s productivity is in the hands of the smallholder farmer. The smallholder farmer is a poor peasant who uses rudimentary tools to farm.

Faced with the adverse effects of climate change, the farmer no longer has predictable rain seasons. Instead, as is characteristic of…

With the effects of Covid-19 taking a toll on businesses across the globe, those operating in low income countries and specifically those in Africa have sought for more than finance to pull through. 

Invest in Africa (IIA), a private sector-led initiative focused on growing local businesses and local content in Sub-Saharan Africa, has created a Covid-19 SME survival toolkit programme that helps SMEs overcome the potential damage to businesses caused by lockdowns and the ensuing economic shock. 

The survival toolkit includes practical guides, solutions and recommendations to help African SMEs get through the many challenges the pandemic represents. It is also organizing a series of webinars under which SMEs can benefit from several industry advisors.  

The entity has a curated list of online resources relevant to your business during this pandemic. 

“Because the vast majority of businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa are SMEs, they also provide nearly all

Five years ahead of schedule Tanzania achieved middle income status. To be exact, the World Bank changed it's classification from ‘a low-income to a lower-middle-income country.’

East Africa’s sleeping giant is finally awakening. Right in the middle of the global Coronavirus pandemic, Tanzania has provided a rare piece of good news — on 1 July 2020, the country achieved its middle-income vision five years ahead of schedule. – The Africa Report

The World Bank’s news was announced to the country by it’s President John Magufuli bringing even more recognition to the achievements of Tanzania’s fifth administration.

In his twitter handle, the president posted the new country status emphasizing the achievement was accomplished five years ahead of time.

“Today, July 1, 2020, the World Bank announced that Tanzania has become a middle-income country. I congratulate my Tanzanian colleagues for this achievement. This is a big feat that we have accomplished and…