A promising new continent-wide trade agreement for Africa
The new African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is expected to be a game changer, boosting inter-African trade, spurring manufacturing, and creating economic opportunities. But for its benefits to be realised, the details need to be negotiated; and Africa’s leaders need to commit to AfCFTA for the long haul. On 21 March 2018, 44 African […]
Mark of trust: Rwanda expands global market access for local industry
Rwanda is a country of immense potential and countless opportunities.In December 2017, the Rwanda Standards Board (RSB), received the endorsement of the Dutch Accreditation Council (RvA), creating access for Rwandan products to compete in international markets. The RVA is an internationally recognised standards accreditation body. Rwanda Standards Board has been working with TradeMark Africa (TMA), […]
Supporting Kenya’s industrialisation: Mombasa port, SEZs and targeted development cooperation
The SET programme has highlighted Kenya’s lagging industrialisation, characterised by falling manufacturing to GDP ratios in the past few decades. Nonetheless, there is a real opportunity in the coming few years to get it right, doubling manufacturing output and creating 300,000 manufacturing jobs in the country. This will require implementation of a range of appropriate policies. The SET […]
Count down to entry into force of the World Trade Organisation Trade Facilitation Agreement
In December 2013, Member Countries of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) concluded negotiations on a Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) at their 9th Ministerial Conference as part of the wider “Bali Package”. The TFA is about simplification, standardisation, harmonisation and transparency of trade-related procedures. According to the WTO 2015 Global Trade Report, the impact of implementing WTO […]
TMA positioned to tumble logistics hurdles in Tanzania
Tanzania has recorded an impressive improvement in the area of logistics according to the Global Logistics Index Report prepared by the World Bank in 2016. The country has jumped by about 70 positions to be number 61 out of 156 economies that were ranked as compared to 2014 when it was ranked number 138. The […]