Browsing: East Africa

The European Investment Bank (EIB) board of directors approved $14.9 billion to finance post-pandemic recovery projects and climate action around the world. 

The new financing includes more than $3.67 billion of COVID-19 related investment aimed at strengthening public services, improving public health and back investment into companies in sectors hardest hit by the pandemic. 

The bank has approved $23.8 billion since the pandemic began to enable public and private partners around the world to address challenges in health, social and economic aspects. 

The EIB board of directors agreed to back investment in telecommunications, agriculture, housing, water and urban development across Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. 

Werner Hoyer, EIB President said fighting climate change and tackling the pandemic has to go hand-in-hand to achieve a green recovery. He also said that this money would be invested in sustainability and innovation efforts and be used to minimize the impact of climate …

The French Development Agency (AFD) signed a partnership with the Trade and Development Bank (TDB) of Eastern and Southern Africa to open a $150 million line of credit to finance sustainable infrastructure in East Africa.

Trade and Development Bank (TDB) is a commercial bank owned by the member states of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the World Bank and China.

The agreement was initiated by TDB’s chairman and CEO  Admassu Tadesse and Ghislain de Valon, Director of AFD in Kenya. According to the  French Development Agency, the aim of the credit line is to support Trade Development Bank in its role as a leading regional bank for climate finance in the region it serves (East Africa).

The funding will also increase the Trade and Development Bank’s supply of climate finance, directly contributing to the achievement of the objectives set out in the National Climate Change (NCC) …

While its Standard Gauge Railway project is commencing at the speed of light to give Tanzania its first electric powered train, the country is also making efforts to revive its once closed internal railway line for locomotives.

Last year, Tanzanians joy rode the reopened passenger and cargo train from the commercial port city of Dar es Salaam to Moshi, home of Africa’s highest mountain, the Kilimanjaro.

New locomotives were bought and engines imported, the train quickly became a national hit and immediately eased the pressure that was on road transport. Government officials led the excited public in trying out the train that has first, second and third class levels offering all te amenities that a traveler would need.

The revival of freight operations on the 438 km rail stretch was marked by a ceremony that was attended by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa at the destination of the train in Moshi.…

Ethiopia wants to join the World Trade Organization (WTO), the historically technocrat country now wants to open its doors and become a market economy.

This means privatizing its industries, a move that the country was previously reluctant to take. However, over the last eight years, Ethiopia has been making major economic reforms and the world has begun to notice.

Under the new liberalization policy, Ethiopia will now privatize some key sectors like its telecom industry and its national pride, the airlines led by Air Ethiopia as well as its banking and logistics sectors.

The world has taken notice and to urge and nudge the country on, the international community has allowed it to resume negotiations with the WTO.

A bid 8 yrs in making

Ethiopia started to make moves towards joining the WTO some 8 years ago when it first filed its application and a Working Party was formed in …

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi will later this month take over the Chairmanship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The 40th Heads of State summit will be held virtually as Mozambique takes helm of the regional organization to speak on peace, security and regional co-operation.

Up to this year, the Chairman of the 16-member regional bloc was under the leadership of Tanzania’s fifth President, Dr. John Magufuli.

President Magufuli, the seating chairperson, assumed the leadership of the trade bloc last year in August. Arguably, President Magufuli had to deal with one of the worst crisis that the SADC trade bloc has ever had to face, Covid-19.

As it did for the European Union and other World trade areas, the Covid-19 global pandemic rendered business asunder across all 16 member states. Most all SADC member states were forced to close their borders effectively disrupting business flow across Africa’s largest trade bloc.…

After much back and forth that caused enormous delay, the East African Community (EAC) has passed a 97.6m US dollars budget for the next financial year.

Of the total amount, 55.6m US dollars will come from EAC partner states, while development partners will contribute 41.9m US dollars.

The budget reflects the region’s top priority areas which can be shortlisted to about seven areas. During the next financial year, the community will focus on Consolidation of the Single Customs Territory (SCT) to cover all imports and intra-EAC traded goods, including agricultural and other widely consumed products.

It will also cover infrastructure development including the enhancement of free movement of all factors of production as declared under the Common Market and Monetary Union Protocols.

Another focus area is the enhancement of regional industrial development through investment in key priority sectors like skills development, technological advancement and innovation to stimulate economic development.…