Browsing: East African Community (EAC)

There are now more than 100,000 mini-grid stations across Africa, these little power generation stations are serving to bridge Africa’s rural power gap and Tanzania is no exception.

While the country leads Africa in rural electrification efforts, there is still huge gap between demand and supply and the solution to cover it lays in mini-grids, small power stations that generate power at localized remote points.

To date, Tanzania has well over 100 mini-grids that provide electrical power to over 250,000 people in remote corners of the country. These mini-grids provide close to 200 MW using biomass, fossil fuel and solar systems as well as hybrids of these energy sources.

Tanzania’s national policies also support adoption of renewable energy technologies. Off-grid electrification using renewable energy technologies can offer a power solution to rural and remote areas. These efforts are inline with the global Sustainable Development Goals.

SDG number 7 calls for …

For the first time ever, the East African Community has converged public and private stakeholders to identify concrete solutions to boost trade and investment opportunities for coffee exporters in the region.

The high level policy makers and business leaders meeting is meant to discuss breaking trade barriers in the EAC and beyond in coffee trade. It will also focus on finance and market access for the region to become a more competitive exporter of coffee.

Dubbed the EAC Coffee Business Forum – organised jointly with the African Fine Coffee Conference and Exhibition – is financed by the European Union through the MARKUP programme. It will feature a week of interactive discussions, workshops and networking events.

According to International Trade Centre, increasing coffee exports from Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania could have a considerable positive impact on EAC’s economic development. This can only be achieved if existing trade barriers are …

The East African Community has marked its 20^th Anniversary with pomp and fanfare at its Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.

This comes as the community mulls over the inclusion of The Democratic Republic of Congo into the community, which would not only give the community a major population rise but also a coast to coast linking both the East African coast and the West African coast. Though the considerations are yet to be approved, policy analysts believe this move is a matter of when not if. However, there is still contention on whether to include the East most country, Somalia which has also expressed interest.

Uganda’s 2^nd Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for EAC Affairs, Hon. Dr. Ali Kirunda Kivejinja, who presided over the anniversary celebration, said that EAC Partner States would not repeat the mistake of the past that led to the collapse of the first Community.

Dr. …

East Africa(EA) business community will address issues on harmonising airspace among others during the East African Business and Investment summit taking place in Arusha, Tanzania from 28 to 29 November.

Denis Karera, the Vice Chairman of the Council said that the summit seeks to address the most pressing issues challenging business in the region, especially cross border trade.

“Non-tariff barriers impede cross border trade. One of the key things we want to raise, again, is the domestication of airspace so that our airlines can move easily and quickly and tickets can become cheaper as well,” he said as he addressed the press.

He added that flight ticket prices are driven by none harmonized and heavy duties imposed on airlines landing at different African airports. He said that flight tickets are expensive because all the east African countries charge taxes among other handling services for every landing.

Also Read: EAC

Lack of standards specifications, poor production methods, poor finish, reduced lifespan and sub- standard issues have been cited as factors hindering the export growth of the products manufactured by the Micro Small and Medium-sized Entreprises (MSMEs) in the region.

This was said during the inaugural regional consultative forum on  MSMEs held at East African Business Council Secretariat in Arusha, Tanzania.

MSMEs are the most dynamic and fastest-growing sectors in EAC, contributing to approximately 85 per cent of employment and approximately 25 per cent to the GDP of the EAC Partner States.

This was emphasized by Mr. Richard Muteti, CEO Confederation of Micro and Small Enterprises Organisation East Africa (CMSEOEA).

Also Read: e-Commerce deal to link Kenyan SMEs to markets

“Despite the importance of the MSMEs to the economy, there isn’t a tailor-made policy at EAC level focusing on the promotion of MSMEs,” said the East African Business Council (EABC) Mr …

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 …

Sub-Saharan African clothing and footwear market is worth $31 billion US dollars and growing. In a series of articles about the industry in Sub Sahara Africa, we will explore the policies, trade and the budding creative fashion industry in the region. This is the second part of the series where we focus on the raw material for the textile industry.

Read the previous series:  Africa Fashionomics: Making sense of the $31 Billion industry

Also:  Africa Fashionomics: Not enough materials to support a budding textile industry

And also: Africa Fashionomics: Business of Fashion in Africa led by Ethiopia

East African Community had one ambitious goal; to get rid of second-hand clothes in the region and shield their nascent textile industry from adverse effects of these clothes from U.S and Europe. The goal was already set and the countries would effect a hike on the duty charged on second-hand clothes. East African …

TradeMark East Africa has been feted by the Rwanda Trade body Private Sector Federation (PSF) for its work in reducing barriers to trade in Rwanda.

TMEA recently announced its new strategy in Rwanda, injecting over US$ 50Million in various projects ranging from physical infrastructure development on Lake Kivu to building digital trade platforms.

East Africa is one of the fastest growing blocs in the world, however, the potential of the EAC in regard to growing regional trade is yet to be fully achieved.

“This is partially due to the fact that as individual member countries pursue their national industrial policies, they are likely to implement measures that counter regional integration obligations. As a result, trade disputes and non-tariff barriers persist,” Kenya Association of Manufacturers CEO Ms Phyllis Wakiaga said in a statement.

During the presentation of the award at the inaugural Golden Business Forum (GBF), held in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, …