Browsing: East African Business Council (EABC)

East African Community ( EAC )member states have been urged to should eliminate NTBs and implement agreed EAC directives to boost intra EAC trade to 50 per cent.

According to the East African Business Council CEO Mr Peter Mathuki, business community and officials from Trade Facilitation Agencies should embrace the vision of a borderless East Africa for trade.

Intra EAC trade is currently at 12 per cent.

Last week, EABC – and Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA) kicked off the second Public-Private Dialogue (PPD) with Trade Facilitation Agencies at Busia One-Stop Border Post to interrogate if EAC agreements and practices ease doing business across EAC borders. The EABC-TMEA Public-Private Dialogue was held with Trade Facilitation Agencies at Busia One-Stop Border Post.The PPDs focus is on the extent to which Partner States are translating the EAC Common Market and Customs Union Protocols into policies that support the actualization of free movement …

Intra-East African Community (EAC) trade is still low at 12 per cent, compared to the European Uion which stands at 67 per cent.

This is according to the East African Business Council (EABC) Chairman Mr Nicholas Nesbitt who also commended Rwanda for being ranked 2nd in Africa in the World Bank’s ranking on Ease of Doing Business.

Such milestones if achieved in other Partners States will make the region more attractive for investments,” said Mr Nesbitt.

“The private sector desires to partner more with governments to make the region attractive for investments, wealth and employment creation, uplifting East Africans out of poverty,” he added.

The Chairman was speaking during an EABC Board Directors meeting with Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, in Kigali, Rwanda.

Eliminating Non-tariff barriers 

According to the chairman, the potential regional market of 200 million consumers can only be accessed if businesses are facilitated and NTBs eliminated.

He …

Tanzania has opened up its borders for an alcoholic drink from Kenya which had been barred entry since March this year.

This is in the wake of the ongoing Public- Private Dialogue(PPD) with trade facilitation agencies at One-Stop Borders across the East Africa Community, aimed at adressing cross-border barriers.

READ:Kenyans lament trade discrepancies with Tanzania

The initaive is under a TradeMark East Africa(TMEA) and East African Business Council (EABC) programme which scrutinizes if EAC agreements and practices are easing doing business across borders.

The PPDs focus is on the extent to which partner states are translating the EAC Common Market and Customs Union Protocols into policies that support the actualization of free movement of goods and people.

The debut EABC Public-Private Dialogue with Trade Facilitation Agencies at Namanga One-Stop Border Post brought together officials from Ministries of EAC Affairs, immigration, bureaus of standards, plant and animal health, sanitary and …

The East African Business Council has called for closer government partnership and involvement with the private sector in policy formulation to enhance the competitiveness of the EAC region.

This, according to the EABC Chairman Mr Nick Nesbitt will also enhance value addition in agriculture, mining and services sectors among others as well as strengthening regional value chains.

“EABC is a respected coordinator and holds respective dialogue with EAC governments with balanced regional views and policy stance,” he said.

Mr. Nebsitt  was speaking during a courtesy visit to Uganda’s President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, and highlighted the importance of fast tracking the  comprehensive review of EAC CET; Liberalization of Opens Skies;  One Network Area on Telecommunication; Harmonization of Standards in the EAC; Strengthening the EAC Secretariat on enforcement of laws; Market access with Democratic Republic of the Congo; Transport interlinkages in the region – Road, Rail and Water (lake Victoria); Inter-governmental trade …

The Kenyan business community is now hopeful Tanzania will uphold its commitment of opening up its borders for trade under the Single Customs Territory (SCT), after President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit to Tanzania this weekend.

The diplomatic and trade relations of the two countries had last week plummeted following remarks by a Nairobi politician, which indicated foreigners would be thrown out.

Emotions ran high among legislators of the two countries, after Kenyan-Starehe MP Charles Njagua’s remarks on foreigners.

The legislator on June 26, turned the heat on foreign traders accusing them of taking over key city markets, while they harassed. He threatened to flash out foreigners and have them deported.

Njagua’s sentiments were not well received in Tanzania where a heated debate ensued in Parliament, with legislators threatening a diplomatic action against Kenya.

READ ALSO:Tanzania’s ‘jilted lover’ attitude hinders uniting East Africa

Tanzania’s opposition leader Freeman Mbowe said though Hon.Njagua …

The East African Community (EAC) member states have been urged to create a readily accessible regional market for leather products and a conducive business environment to promote regional value addition in the leather sector.

This came out at the EAC Regional Leather Forum convened by the East African Business Council brought together over 40  Industry champions in the leather manufacturing from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

According to World Bank Kenya Leather Industry – Diagnosis, Strategy and Action Plan, Leather and Leather products among the most widely traded agro-based commodities in the world,  with a global estimated trade value of over US$ 150 billion a year, more than five times that of coffee. Despite owning about 15 per cent of the world’s cattle population, Africa accounts for only 8 per cent of the world production of cattle hides and 4 per cent of world leather production.

In …

East Africa’s apex body representing businesses in the bloc EABC,have co-organised a dialogue seeking to create business synergies in various sectors while showcasing the EAC as an ideal business destination for trade and investment.

The dialogue dubbed the East African Community-German Business and Investment Expert Dialogue which was also organized by the German-African Business Association at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.

The Executive Director of the East African Business Council, Mr Peter Mathuki said it is with no doubt that if all Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) hindering trade within the  EAC Common Market  are removed, the domestic demand and market of over 150 million people from the six EAC partner states will attract  investments from Germany and all over the world as it will be more economically viable for all Investors to invest in the EAC.

In his remarks read by EABC Manager Policy and Standards, Mr. Lamech Wesonga, …

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

This, according to the East African Business Council (EABC) was the tone from the discussions of the meeting held on Thursday in Arusha about how the East African Private sector including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) could benefit from the AfCFTA.

The one-day meeting, organized jointly between the EABC and the UN 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 potential gains from the AfCFTA, including an increase in intra-African exports of Eastern Africa by nearly US$ 1 billion and job creation of 0.5 to 1.9 million.

“Together African economies have a collective GDP of 2.5 …