Browsing: EAC

A regional business umbrella body has called upon East Africa’s partner states to harmonise investment incentives and market the region as a single investment destination. 

The East African Business Council (EABC) is counting on the six heads of EAC member states to merge marketing of the bloc and attract investors in the various opportunities available. One of the aspects the EABC recommends is harmonising incentives to make it easier for investors to pick the bloc from the rest of the continent.  

East Africa has often been referred to as one of the fastest growing trading blocs in Africa. With a population of more than 177.2 million people the region presents a readily available demand for products and services that emerge from the prospective investments. The region also has a combined GDP size of more than US$147.5 billion. 

A recent report by South Africa’s Rand Merchant Bank …

More than half of the African countries have ratified the trade agreement with Nigeria, the biggest economy on the continent, being the latest to ratify.…

 The East African Business Council (EABC) is urging for tax regime harmonization within the East Africa Community (EAC) and improve ease of doing business to lure more investors in the region.

East African countries such as Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania are ranked in the top 7 by “Where to Invest in Africa” 2019 report of the Rand Merchant Bank (RMB).

Speaking on the second day of the Virtual Conference on Trade & Investment Opportunities in East Africa Beyond COVID-19, EABC CEO, Dr. Peter Mutuku Mathuki urged EAC Partner States to continue creating a favorable business environment in the region.

Also Read: Tanzania: Electronic stamps improving tax collection

“Addressing the cost of doing business such as energy and infrastructure issues and ensuring stable human capital development will entice investors to come to East Africa,” he said.

The conference attracted Investment Promotion Authorities, Senior Government Officials, Industry Champions, Development Partners and Investors …

Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy after overtaking South Africa.…

Kenya’s regional neighbours are demonstrating significantly faster growth rates…

Zambia – Tanzania relations

It’s no secret that Zambia’s economic situation has gone from bad to worse over the years. In mid-2018 the country’s debt reached 9.4 billion USD and has become worse as we stand in 2020, in just a period of 2 years (Ofstad & Tjønneland, 2019).

In May 2020, the Tanzania-Zambia borders were closed due to the pandemic, however, the reopening of trade between the two countries seems to be normalized as nations are now gung-ho in pushing cross border trade.

Zambia’s Economic Snapshot

source: tradingeconomics.com

The graph above shows Zambia’s development from the year 1990 to the year 2019. The country’s economy improved from the year 2011 to the year 2018, as one can see the national GDP output increasing as a result of its healthy inflation rate. In 2019 the country’s economy took a dive and started to falter given that it’s inflation rate …

Consumer demand and sales volumes have peaked in the developed world leaving the developing countries lagging behind.…

For the last 8 years, member states that make up the East African Community have not met their annual commitments to the regional body fully.  The closest they came to fully meet these commitments was in the financial year 2011/12, and were at their lowest at 70% for FY2019/20.

This has led to the EAC to push for its organs to reduce their budgets to adjust to this reality which has included reducing the number of activities and missions abroad. These efforts to reduce the expenses by the community were acknowledged last month by the African Development Bank, which ranked the EAC as the most performing regional community in Africa.

For example, documents availed to The Exchange by sources within the community show that the travel expenses which were at USD 17.7 million during FY2013/14 were reduced to USD 12.05 million during FY2017/18.

However, according to sources within the community, …

Agribusinesses in the EAC member states are expected to benefit from greater business opportunities in both the East African and European markets.…

The EU presents a huge opportunity for the EAC region SMEs making it a great platform for those in the sector to market their products in Europe.…