Browsing: Rwanda

The Intra African Trade Fair (IATF2021) is expected to be a grand event that comes in the backdrop of very optimistic forecasts for the automobile industry in Africa.

To be held next year in Kigali, Rwanda, from 6 – 12 September 2021, the IATF 2021 is a major trade event, that serves to boost sells of vehicles and related parts across the continent. The event will provide a unique and valuable platform for businesses to explore a single integrated African market of over 1.3 billion people with a combined GDP of over US$2.5 trillion.

Thanks to increased regional value chains, Afreximbank is of the view that new vehicle sales increase from 1 million to 5 million units a year across Africa.

A senior trade facilitator Gainmore Zanamwe told an online seminar that the sector prospects are brigh and described the Automotive Tradeshow is a critical base from which to …

Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania have joined forces to connect stock markets electronically.

The project which is funded by world bank means that the three countries will operate a single market with a view of reducing the cost and time of trading in shares of companies listed on markets across the borders.

The three states are to start trading before the end of this year after interconnecting their trading systems and hooking it to the EAC Capital Markets Infrastructure (CMI) Information Technology platform.

With this new singe stock market, investors in the three states will buy and sell shares of companies listed in any of the countries without going through different stockbrokers.

Taking 3.28 per cent of the value of the transactions, Ugandan stockbrokers take the largest share of the stock trading commission not only within East Africa but in the entire African continent.

Brokerage commission on equity trading in Rwanda …

The World Bank approved $150 million to Rwanda to help improve access to modern energy for households, enterprises and public institutions

The grant will also help enhance the efficiency of electricity services in the country. The grant will be given as $75 million as grant funding and the other $75 million as a loan.

The Rwanda Energy Access and Quality Improvement Project (EAQIP) is aiming to improve the country’s progress towards achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) to ensure access to affordable, sustainable, reliable and modern energy for the county’s citizens.

It also aims at contributing to Rwanda’s vision of reducing reliance on cooking fuel by 50 per cent.

“The proposed project is well-timed to build on the World Bank’s decade-long support to the Government’s energy sector agenda. It will contribute directly to Rwanda’s push toward universal energy access by 2024 and universal access to clean cooking by 2030”, …

RwandAir announced that it will resume flights to Africa with flights to Cotonou, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Lusaka, Libreville and Kilimanjaro as it gradually picks pace to shake off the challenges endured during the coronavirus pandemic.

Currently, Dubai is RwandAir’s only destination outside Africa but the airline has plans to resume flights to Tel Aviv, London and Guangzhou.

Kigali International Airport also receives flights departing for Brussels, Johannesburg, Dakar and to Addis Ababa, with connections to the United States via Ethiopian Airlines.

Since rebranding in 2009, the airline has not turned profitable despite consuming over $2 billion in public funds and loans.

Although it has expressed confidence that an increase in economic activity and tourism will spur it to profitability.

As other regional airlines begin to resume flights and many on the same route, RwandAir will have to brace itself for competition

Measures have been put in place for those …

The Mastercard Foundation’ Komeza program is gaining momentum and Rwanda, the fastest growing economy in East Africa, is not about to be left behind.

Equity Bank of Rwanda as announced that it will be partnering with Rwanda’s Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners (ESP) under the Komeza program to stimulate recovery from the negative effects of Covid-19.

Komeza is the brainchild of Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners (ESP) which has won support of Mastercard’s ongoing USD2.5 million MasterCard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program. The Mastercard program is designed to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) specifically in the Tourism and Hospitality sector. (https://spoonerberries.com)

Under the program, with Equity Bank Rwanda PLC as the financing partner, ESP will provide both financial support and technical assistance to 120 SMEs that operate within the Tourism and Hospitality sector.

Over the next year, the Komeza program will provide technical assistance and financing of up to USD50000 …

Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, Ethiopia, Zambia, Rwanda, Uganda, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.

These are the African countries set to be allowed to enter the EU territory as the borders reopen in July, according to a draft list of the countries obtained and reported by euronews.

As the European Union gets ready to reopen its borders, officials in Brussels are debating behind closed doors, the draft of two lists; one with those countries that will be accepted, and one for those which will not, as the territory struggle to meet their previously announced July 1st goal.

The euronews sources also reported that officials “could not reach an agreement”, that talks would continue and that the deadline to open the borders may very well be extended beyond July 1st, suggesting agreements will not be forthcoming in time.

Also read: Air passengers travel confidence key to salvaging African airlines

Notably, Brazil, Qatar, …

The Mercer 2020 gives the cost of living in African cities giving the most expensive and least expensive cities to live in Africa in its Cost of living survey.

The annual survey ranks cities cost of living based on the prices of goods and services such as rent, food and clothing.

The survey is mostly used by multinational organisations to set remuneration packages for their foreign-based employees.

“The Covid-19 pandemic reminds us that sending and keeping employees on international assignments is a huge responsibility and a difficult task to manage,” said Ilya Bonic, career president and head of Mercer Strategy.

According to the report, in East Africa, Kampala Uganda is the least expensive city to live in while Nairobi Kenya is the most expensive city, Kigali Rwanda takes the second least-expensive city followed by Dar-es-Salaam Tanzania.

Also Read: Cost of living to go up for EAC

The report sampled 40 …