Browsing: EAC

Kenyan businesses and the threats of cybersecurity and corruption
  • Cybersecurity, corruption, and policy shifts have been cited among the top issues that Kenyan businesses will have to confront in 2024.
  • In 2022, Kenya suffered a loss of at least $153 million to cybercrime, which is projected to rise by 14 per cent annually.
  • A new report ranks Kenya as the second most difficult country for businesses in EAC after South Sudan.

Cybersecurity, corruption, and policy shifts have been cited among the top issues Kenyan businesses will have to confront in 2024.

The latest Risk Barometer by underwriting giant Allianz, reveals that in Kenya’s complex and dynamic business environment, several challenges loom, casting shadows on the entrepreneurial spirit that drives the economy.

The high cost of living directly impacts consumer spending, affecting businesses across sectors. A weakening currency coupled with inflation also threatens businesses and the economy.

According to Allianz Commercial CEO Petros Papanikolaou, the key challenges for companies …

Burundi and Rwanda relations
  • Burundi and Rwanda relations have hit a new low, with the Burundian government suspending ties with Rwanda, closing the Rwandan border.
  • The diplomatic row between Burundi and Rwanda has a complex history, with tensions dating back to the colonial era and continuing into the post-independence period.
  • The border closure further strains relations between Burundi and Rwanda, as well as the larger East African Community (EAC).

Burundi and Rwanda relations have hit a new low, with the Burundian government suspending ties with Rwanda, closing the Rwandan border, and “chasing” out Rwandese nationals.

Burundi has accused its neighbour of supporting rebel attacks in the region. The move comes after Burundi’s President Évariste Ndayishimiye accused Rwanda of backing the Red Tabara rebel group, which orchestrated an attack near Burundi’s western border, where 20 people lost their lives, including women and children.

“We have closed our borders (with Rwanda), anyone who tries to …

Kenya's exports
  • The East African region and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) were the single biggest trade blocs that consumed Kenya’s exports.
  • According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the value of Kenya’s exports to the EAC totaled $496.7 million (Ksh77.9 billion) up from $431 million (Ksh67.7 billion).
  • There was an increase in earnings from exports to Uganda (27.7%), Tanzania (32.1%), South Sudan (64.4%) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (78.6%).

Kenya’s exports to her East African Community (EAC) neighbours increased in the third quarter of 2023, as the country continued to push volumes amid efforts to cut the high import bill.

This comes as Africa increasingly remained Kenya’s biggest export market, even as economies edge closer to operationalizing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The East African region and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) were the single biggest trade …

EAC COP 28 Climate Summit | Kenya at COP28
  • The East African Community (EAC) will approach the upcoming COP 28 Climate Summit, to be held in Dubai from November 30th to December 12th, 2023, as one bloc.
  • No country should have to choose between its development aspirations and climate change mitigation; there is a need for complementarity as opposed to competition among Partner States.
  • The move comes as the continent faces the most severe challenges, including the ongoing El-Nino floods and drought that have caused havoc due to climate change.

The East African Community has revealed its intention to present a united front at the upcoming COP 28 Climate Summit scheduled to take place in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, from November 30th to December 12th, 2023.

Addressing participants at the EAC High-Level Forum on Climate Change and Food Security in Arusha, Tanzania, EAC Secretary-General Peter Mathuki emphasized the significance of the EAC having a unified stance as it …

Taveta-Holili Border post | Kenya-Tanzania trade relations

Across East Africa’s vibrant economic landscape, Kenya and Tanzania hold a prominent position as both trading partners but also nations engaging in a fierce economic rivalry. Collectively, the two countries collaborate in business, yet never-ending feuds often erupt into disruptions that hurt cross-border trade. Overall, their trade wars slow regional integration while limiting the nations’ ability to exploit the full potential of the East Africa Community (EAC) market.…

Pamoja AFCON Bid 2027

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has selected Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda to host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) over bids from Morocco, Algeria, Senegal, Botswana, and Egypt. The East Africa joint bid, commonly called the “Pamoja AFCON Bid,” has won the hosting rights for the 2027 AFCON as Morocco takes the rights for the 2025 showpiece.

CAF president Patrice Motsepe announced the news on Wednesday morning, 27 September, shortly after the body held an executive committee meeting in its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. Recommendations from several nations boosted the East Africa Pamoja AFCON Bid. In a move that will elate East African sports enthusiasts, the CAF Executive Committee chose the Pamoja Afcon Bid.…

Second hand clothes officially banned in Uganda

On the 1st of June 2023, African ministers for trade and industries adopted a protocol that prevents trading second-hand clothes across the continent under the preferences of the AfCFTA. This was during the high-level African Union – East African Community and the private sector forum, the second Ministerial Retreat of the Council of Ministers on the AfCFTA, held in Nairobi, Kenya, to assess the progress and address critical aspects of the agreement's implementation.…

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East Africa Trade
  • AfDB projects mid-term economic growth across EAC will accelerate to 5.1% in 2023 and 5.8% in 2024. This will be the highest growth area in Africa.
  • The region will largely be powered by growth in Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, and Tanzania.
  • East Africa’s real GDP is riding on a strong services sector that contributed almost 50% of the economic growth in 2022.

According to the newly released African Development Bank economic outlook, the East African Community (EAC) economies will post the highest regional economic performance on the continent in 2023 and 2024, with growth rates of over 5 percent.

AfDB’s 2023 East Africa Economic Outlook projects that EAC’s mid-term economic growth will accelerate to 5.1 per cent in 2023. The region will further post 5.8 per cent economic expansion in 2024, outpacing all other African regions. The region will largely be powered by growth in Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, …

Kenya's textile industry

A recent report has revealed that the ban on second-hand clothing, also known as mitumba, might not enhance Kenya’s textile industry as previously anticipated. The report commissioned by the Mitumba Consortium Association of Kenya (MCAS) on the Second-Hand Clothing Industry in the East Africa Community has cautioned against protectionism towards importing second-hand clothing.…

africa 2024 outlook
  • The Kenyan shilling has fallen to a new low of 140.04 against the US dollar.
  • Central Bank of Kenya data shows the unit is also losing to other major currencies including British Pound and Euro.
  • Last year, the Kenyan shilling depreciated by about 7.5 per cent against the US dollar, the UAE dirham (7.5%), Saudi Riyal (7.4%) and the Chinese Yuan (3.1%), the Kenya Economic Survey 2023 shows.

As developing market currencies continue to suffer from the worldwide increase in interest rates, which is being spearheaded by the US Federal Reserve, the Kenyan Shilling has dropped to a historic low in relation to the US Dollar.

The Fed has increased the benchmark rate ten times in a row, or a total of five percentage points, since March of last year. In the last 40 years, these increases are the most abrupt. In an effort to combat US inflation, interest rates…