Rwanda has announced a new visa regime that allows travellers from across the world to be issued a 30-day visa on arrival in Kigali, beginning January 1, 2018. The first of its kind in Africa, the visa-on-arrival policy was approved by a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame on November 8. "Citizens of all countries will get a visa upon arrival without prior application, starting January 1, 2018. Before that, only nationals of African countries and few others were getting a visa upon arrival," said a statement signed by Yves Butera, spokesperson of the Directorate-General of Immigration and Emigration. "The new visa regime opens Rwanda to the world and is good for business. Rwanda believes that the free movement of people fosters trade and tourism, and is good for the continent's integration policy. We are aware of the challenges of open borders, but as a country, we also believe that the benefits of our policy outweigh the potential setbacks," said Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo. African Passport According to Olivier Nduhungirehe, State Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in charge of East African Community affairs, the move is in line with the African Union spirit of encouraging free movement of people and is expected to increase the number of tourists and foreign investors coming to Rwanda. "We have been talking about continental and regional integration and free movement of people for many years. Rwanda has taken the first step to implement this and we believe other AU member states...

The grant was confirmed through a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the African Development Bank East Africa Regional Resource Centre (EARC), and the East African Community (EAC). Initial  Preparation Phase of the East African Community road road project includes; three key multinational road sections between Masaka-Mutukula stretching 89.5 kilometres in Uganda and Mutukula to Kyaka section (30km) as well as Bugene to Kasulo and to Kumunazi, stretching for 133 kilometres. EAC is working towards tarmacking around 900 kilometres of the region’s road network annually in the ongoing robust plans for the upgrading of over 30,000 kilometres of roads in the six member states to bitumen over the next 33 years. That is among the developmental milestones contained in the EAC Vision 2050, which entails improved road networks, cited to be critical for industrialization and the movement of both people and goods. Discovery of oil and gas East Africa and the need to enhance intra-trade has necessitated the need for better roads in the region. African Development Bank(AfDB) has been the main financier in this front. The financier is currently involved in the construction of a major highway from Malindi Kenya to Tanzania. Source: Construction and Civil Engineering

The East African Community (EAC) member states are set to ratify the avoidance of double taxation treaty in order to boost regional integration, a Kenyan official said on Thursday. Barrack Ndegwa, Regional Integration Secretary in the Ministry of EAC, Labor and Social Protection, told Xinhua that heads of states of the EAC have already signed the protocol on double taxation. "What is now remaining is each of the six member states to individually ratify the treaty so that it is operational," Ndegwa said on the sides of the International Film Convention. EAC partner states include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. Ndegwa said that once the tax treaty is operational, citizens working in other EAC member states will only be taxed once. "They will be exempted from paying taxes in their host country and only pay tax to their home country and hence avoid double taxation," he said. The objective of the treaty is to promote the EAC Common Market Protocol that calls for free movement of capital, goods, services and labor, he added. He said that intra-EAC trade has faced an increase in non-tariff barriers, as well as the slow implementation of decisions agreed upon at the summit level. Source: Xinhua Net

Huge potential, unlimited opportunities – this is how energy experts in the region describe the East African power sector. A required investment of approximately $93 billion per annum needed to address East Africa’s power and infrastructure needs opens up exciting business opportunities for suppliers and solution providers from across the globe. Future Energy East Africa (www.Future-Energy-EastAfrica.com), with the official support of the Kenyan Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, will once again host many of the region’s leading energy decision makers from 29 – 30 November 2017 at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi. Formerly known as the East African Power Industry Convention (EAPIC) the event boasts both a strategic conference and a large trade exhibition which provides a platform for public and private stakeholders to engage in discussions around the future of the East African energy sector, giving stakeholders the opportunity to benchmark their operations, challenges and achievements against their peers and seek suppliers who are looking to gain access to projects across the region. Leading energy experts and industry suppliers who are excited about the region’s potential and opportunities in the sector that will be at Future Energy East Africa include: “The electricity industry in this region is one of the fastest developing on the continent and Future Energy East Africa presents the perfect opportunity to showcase our products, services and expertise to a key growth market. We have been participating in EAPIC for many years and we are excited to see the event develop after its rebranding as...

The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report for 2018 released a fortnight ago showed that Kenya had made remarkable strides in smoothening conditions for commerce. The country was ranked number 80 globally in 2017, having climbed 12 places compared to the previous year. The improvement was attributed to a raft of reforms in key areas such as starting a business. The ranking captures approvals such as construction permits, registration of property, ease of border clearance, among several other parameters. The 2017 ranking is the country’s highest since 2008 when it was ranked number 84. The new ranking makes Kenya as the third most competitive economy in Africa after Mauritius (25th) and Rwanda (41st). Despite the overall improvement, the World Bank scorecard highlights weak points in Kenya’s efforts to provide a smooth environment for business. According to the scorecard the country continues to perform poorly on key indicators such as starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registration of property and trading across borders. For instance, it remains problematic to start a business in Kenya despite the introduction of the e-citizen online portal to help deal with strenuous filing of hard-copy documents. In Kenya an entrepreneur undergoes at least six processes lasting for at least 25 days to start a small-to-medium sized limited liability company. The World Bank attributes poor performance in ease of starting a business to the flat fee of Sh10,650 introduced by the government for company incorporation, as a result Kenya was ranked 117 out of 190...

Ugandan companies should form partnerships with United Kingdom (UK) firms in trade export finance, finance technology and capital markets to manage their business efficiently. Speaking in a high level meeting over Uganda’s Financial Services Sector and Capital Markets at Kampala Serena Hotel last week, Mr Liam Fox, the MP, Secretary of State for International Trade and UK Business Associates, said there is need for UK companies to form long-term strategic relationships with companies in Uganda. He noted that such partnerships create trade opportunities between both countries. “We want to see more UK companies in Uganda and Africa providing trade finance,” Mr Fox who was meeting UK Cabinet ministers, government officials, Bank of Uganda, finance and manufacturing companies in Uganda, said. Mr Fox said in the UK, they have capital investment finance, UK trade finance, which companies in Uganda can tap into it. The UK Trade and Investment is a government organisation which offers assistance to overseas business. They have knowledge, a global network of business facilitators and staff in embassies. They provide business information, detail of UK environment and access to UK business networks to help foreign investors to make informed decisions. Mr Fox said there are 22 UK experts in the world providing direct market information contact. In an interview with Daily Monitor, the head of growth and economic Management at Department for International Development, Mr Adrian Green, said Ugandan companies should move fast in forming partnership and signing agreements with UK companies like it has been done in...

The African Development Bank (AfDB)’s East Africa Regional Resource Centre (EARC), and the East African Community (EAC) have signed the Financing Agreement amounting to US $ 1.2 million to finance the Project Preparation Phase of three key Multinational Road Sections between Masaka in Uganda to Kumunazi in Tanzania. The Secretary General of the East African Community, Ambassador Liberat Mfumukeko, signed the agreement on behalf of the Community while Mr Gabriel Negatu, Director General of the African Development Bank - East Africa Regional Resource Centre (EARC), inked the same on behalf of African Development Bank. The purpose of the Grant is to finance the Project Preparation Phase of the proposed three (3) key Multinational Road Sections between Masaka in Uganda to Kumunazi in Tanzania. According to a statement from the EAC Secretariat here, the key Multinational Road Sections covered under this Grant for preparatory works include, Masaka to Mutukula Section (89.5km) in Uganda, Mutukula to Kyaka Section (30km) in Tanzania as well as Bugene to Kasulo to Kumunazi Section (133 kilometres) also located in Tanzania. At the same occasion, the EAC presented a list of 18 priority projects to be supported by the African Development Bank under its Regional Integration Strategy Paper (RISP) 2017-2021. Present at the projects’ signing ceremony were the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure, Engineer Steven Mlote, Counsel to the Community, Dr Anthony Kafumbe, Executive Secretary of Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC), Dr Said Ali Matano and Executive Secretary of East African Health...

The DLG (German Agricultural Society) and the German trade show specialist Fairtrade will work together on four central agricultural markets in Africa. This is what the two trade fair organizers have agreed to a cooperation agreement on the sidelines of AGRITECHNICA 2017 in Hanover. DLG will bring in its agro and trade fair expertise by introducing its trade fair brand AgroTech to the existing agro-food trade fairs (agro segment) of fairtrade in Ethiopia and Nigeria, as well as alternately in Ghana and Ivory Coast. The focus of the cooperation is in the fields of agricultural technology and animal production. The primary goal of the cooperation is to offer German and international exhibitors the best possible platforms for their market development, thus enabling sustainable development of these agriculturally important emerging countries. In order to attract new visitor target groups, such as the so-called large-scale farmers from the target and neighboring markets, a regionally adapted DLG specialist program will be set up or expanded. With the support of industry experts, know-how along the entire value chain of plant production is transferred into these regions. Both Ethiopia, the world's leading producer of coffee, corn and millet and its vast integrated agro-industrial parks, and Nigeria as Africa's largest economy and with 190 million the continent's most populated country, are experiencing strong demand for innovative technologies for agricultural production. This applies equally to other West and East African markets. Above all, solutions for more efficient irrigation and plant protection are on the agenda of politics...

Kenya is keen to strengthen its trade links with the economies around East and Central Africa. As an economy yearning to emerge, it has not shown sustainable economic growth that will enhance the progress in reducing poverty by increasing incomes - in particular for low income groups in both rural and urban areas - strengthening social welfare, and improving the economic environment. Trading needs to expand, financial markets need more integration and majorly, advancements in communication and transportation systems must be upgraded. As the backbone of international trade, logistics encompasses freight transportation, warehousing, border clearance, payment systems etc. Despite these functions being majorly performed by private service providers for private traders and owners, logistics has an obligatory role in public policies of national governments, regional and international organisations. Building infrastructure, developing a regulatory regime for transport services and designing and implementing efficient customs clearance procedures are all areas where governments play an important role. The standard gauge railway (SGR) is already snaking its way along the northern transport corridor that ends in Rwanda via Uganda, from Kenya’s port of Mombasa. Its tentacles will tangent into South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo. This will strengthen both Kenya’s strategic geo-political positioning and its gateway functionality. So what does this magnitude of infrastructural development mean to the rural folk where it will traverse? Will they be able to do any better business, if at all start any? Seldom has any governor or member of county assembly, whose county is on the SGR-route...

The East African Community secretariat is revising the Common External Tariffs (CET) to ease doing business in the region’s private sector - the engine of growth and development. The EAC Secretariat director of Trade, Mr Alhaj Rashid Kibowa and the Secretary General Liberat Mfumukeko while meeting a delegation of the regional private sector under their umbrella organisation (EABC) last week, said: “The region is revising the Common External Tariff that will be more effective and predictable.” Regional trade integration is a pillar of EAC partner states’ trade policies. The Customs Union, a first milestone in the regional integration process, was adopted in 2005, committing member states - originally Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to the adoption of a CET. Common External Tariff The EAC-CET comprises a triple band structure for raw materials and capital goods (0 per cent), intermediate goods (10 per cent) and final goods (25 per cent), as well as a Sensitive Items list with exceptions to the three-band rule for specified commodities attracting high rates of duty (notably, all above 30 per cent. Mr Mfumukeko said: “We are going to look at key priorities that can make a difference in the region and generate results for the integration process.” Mr Mfumukeko wants to create new businesses and trade opportunities among EAC in addition to improving the competitiveness of regional products and services outside the community. EABC approves Responding to the fresh pledge by EAC, Mr Jim Kabeho, the EABC chairman, said they are committed to providing a regional...