At dawn, many women across Africa make their way to their businesses. Some perch on the open backs of trucks loaded with agricultural produce to markets; others wear their high heels and suits as they head for offices in high-rise buildings. Irrespective of their working environments or workspaces (informal or formal), women contribute to the African economy and oil the economic engines of the continent. In fact, UN Women estimates that “70 per cent of informal cross-border trade in Africa is conducted by women traders.” However, women’s contribution to trade on the continent is yet to be maximized. While women’s involvement in the economy is a common sight, their control and ownership of the instruments of trade is another debate entirely. This is not strange. It can be seen as an extension of established cultural norms about traditional gender roles in many African societies. As the world celebrates International Women’s Month with the campaign theme, #EmbraceEquity, it is important to ask: How do women contribute to trade policies on the continent, especially with the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)? How will the AfCFTA impact women entrepreneurs and traders on the continent? Everyone present at the Africa Prosperity Dialogues held in Ghana in January 2023 agreed on one thing: If properly executed, the AfCFTA will be the biggest free trade area in the world. It will open up African countries to more trading internally and externally. In the aftermath of the Dialogues, the outcomes of the convening have been presented...

Ugandan officials have confirmed that they too are ready to follow in the footpath of their East African Community (EAC) counterparts, Kenya and Rwanda, and start trading under the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative which was officially launched in October 2022. The initiative launched in July 2022, sought to test the environmental, legal and trade policy basis for intra-African trade in a pilot phase that involved eight countries namely, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Tunisia, Tanzania and Rwanda. During a meeting in Kampala, Uganda, on Tuesday, March 21, the East Africa Business Council (EABC) Vice Chairperson, Simon Kaheru, said: “As Ugandan private sector we are ready to trade under the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative and follow our counterparts from Rwanda and Kenya who have already started trading through the agreement.” “The Implementation of African Continental Free Trade Area is projected to increase Intra-African trade significantly, especially in manufacturing.” This was during the Private Sector Sensitization Workshop on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement on Trade in Goods Protocol organized by the EABC, the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda (PSFU), and Uganda Manufacturers Association with support from GIZ as support to the bloc’s integration agenda. During a meeting in Kampala, Uganda, on Tuesday, March 21, the East Africa Business Council (EABC) Vice Chairperson, Simon Kaheru, said: “As Ugandan private sector we are ready to trade under the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative and follow our counterparts from Rwanda and Kenya who have already started trading through the agreement.” “The Implementation of African Continental...

In Summary In Kenya, women make about 52 percent of the country’s population and about 30 percent of registered businesses are women-owned. A third of registered SMEs globally are estimated to have been created by women, and about 100million women run established businesses. More than 20,000 women traders from across East Africa will be benefit from a new platform that seeks to link them with the markets for their products. The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI), Canada and Trademark Africa joint initiative will be undertaken through iSOKO, a platform designed to support women traders in accessing information and selling their produce. Obstacles ranging from limited access to credit facilities, labour and skill gaps, exclusion from key networks, as well as social and legal constraints often hit women. According to TradeMark Africa chief of programmes, Allen Asiimwe, women will now be able to identify the regions their markets are based to enable them make better business decisions. “So far we have reached 3,700 traders who have signed up but we look to reach 20,000 traders across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi being the first pilot by December of 2023,” said Asiimwe. However, the platform is yet to include a currency or mode of payment that cuts across the countries. The Secretary of Trade, in the Ministry of Trade, investments and Industry, Bruno Linyiru said Kenyan women traders face a number of challenges in accessing markets. These include lack of real time information on market prices, demand and...

TradeMark Africa (TMA) has launched a trading platform aimed at easing market and information access for women traders in East Africa after receiving $2 million (Sh261.8 million) in donor funds from the Canadian government through its philanthropy arm Global Affairs Canada. Dubbed iSOKO, the platform launched on Wednesday has been tipped to eliminate challenges that hurt operations for start-ups. The trade aid agency aims to hit 20,000 subscribed traders in the region by the close of this year. The e-commerce platform can be accessed through a mobile application, a website and a USSD code. Customers can view displayed commodities and business management where onboarded traders get to take charge of their sales through services such as bookkeeping and tracking orders. The trade aid agency said the platform is currently operational in five East African countries that include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi with at least 3,700 traders and 50 service providers have already signed up. In Kenya, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) serves as the country host for the platform. “Through our county chamber and Women in Business arm, we have onboarded 2,650 users onto the platform with information on over 100 commodities uploaded. Of this number, 34 are service providers and 25 orders have been processed so far,” stated KNCCI President Richard Ngatia during the launch. Canadian High Commissioner to Kenya Christopher Thornley touted women's involvement in trade and development as keys to unlocking poverty reduction. "Having women at the centre of how we...

THE modernisation of the Beitbridge Border Post through a private-public-partnership arrangement at a cost of US$300 million has the ultimate goal of facilitating a one-stop border post, reducing congestion and monitoring leakages and smuggling making it a preferred and efficient port of entry, an official has said. In an interview, Matabeleland South Province’s Director in charge of Economic and Investment, Mr Richmond Ncube, said the Government was pursuing the idea of a wholesome one-stop border post at Beitbridge after its modernisation was complete. The border is one of Africa’s busiest land ports with an estimated 25 000 people and 500 trucks passing through it on a daily basis. “We are seriously pursuing the idea of a one-stop border post to enhance efficiency in the movement of goods and services as well as plug leakages and smuggling. But the ultimate goal is to improve the travellers’ convenience and experience by removing all the bottlenecks to trade and commerce as well as tourism,” he said. He says the upgraded Beitbridge border post has already unlocked major spinoffs in trade and tourism. It has enhanced greater regional integration and co-operation, as outlined in the Regional Infrastructure Development Strategy. The project is seen as a milestone achievement in the operationalisation of the Integrated Beitbridge Development Master Plan and stands out as one of the key infrastructure projects that has been implemented by the Second Republic. Since its upgrading which is done at a cost of US$300 million, it has facilitated the efficacy in the...

A Ugandan trade expert has differed from the food security report that calls on Least Developed Countries (LDC’s) to open up trade and reduce on high tariffs as a strategy to improve food insecurity. The report was launched at the Doha summit in Qatar on Monday during the summit by the International Trade Centre which is a joint agency with World Trade Organization and UN’s. In the report, it emphasizes that in order to build resilience to food trade shocks, improving food market access for food imports by LDC’s must be given a preference. “In the midst of food crises or price spikes, LDC’s can mitigate the impact on food availability and affordability by facilitating imports and re-evaluating remaining tariffs,” Pamela Coke-Hamilton, the ITC director noted. Joyce Megolonyo in Gulu main market selling cereals. SEATINI and Trademark Africa advocated for empowerment of such entrepreneurs to boost food security. However, Jane S Nalunga the Executive Director of the Southern and East Africa Trade information and negotiations Institute (SEATINI) said in the context of LDC’s trade is necessary in relation to importing machinery like tractors to aid them to grow their own food. Nalunga told New Vision in Doha that if LDC’s are importing value-added products then that is not viable as it's likely to paralyze the small-scale producers The SEATINI boss who was in Doha to deliberate on enhancing the participation of LDC’s in International trade and regional integration. “If we are to strengthen the local producers, there is a need...

Experts yesterday observed that the commencement of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides opportunities to create more job opportunities and advance the work environment. They were speaking at the opening academic conference with the theme, ‘The Commencement of AFCTA: Opportunities for the Work Environment’ organised by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM) in collaboration with Lead City University, Ibadan. The vice-chancellor of the university, Prof. Aderemi Adeyemo, described the commencement of AFCTA as “a historic moment for the continent, and it presents us with a unique opportunity to transform the African economy and create new job opportunities. “I urge you all to engage in constructive dialogue and exchange ideas on how we can harness the opportunities presented by the AFCTA to create a more prosperous and equitable Africa. “Let us work together to ensure that the work environment is at the centre of our efforts to build a more prosperous and integrated Africa,” he said. The VC explained that the academic conference was designed to share critical knowledge and information on issues relating to the impacts of AfCTA on HR theory and practice, building an inclusive work environment and adaptable workforce, virtual work and employee well-being and implementation of AfCTA: Institutional Response and Framework. The president and chairman of the Governing Council of CIPM, Olusegun Mojeed, stated that there is a need to bridge the gap between the town and the gown, and between academic theories and strategic human resource management by providing a platform...

Summary EAC secretary-general requested for a 10-year Agoa extension at the US-Africa Leaders Summit. All EAC partner states are eligible for Agoa except South Sudan. ACC Kenya CEO says Amcham Business Summit to be held in Nairobi on March 29-30, 2023. The East African Community (EAC) wants the US government to make the rules governing access to their market more flexible under the planned renewal of the African Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa). The regional bloc, during its Council of Ministers Ordinary meeting held in February, made four new proposals to the Joe Biden administration to expand Agoa and make it more effective should the US Congress hasten its renewal before the 2025 expiry date. The proposals come in the wake of plans by the American Chamber of Commerce Kenya (AmCham), a network of American and Kenyan businesses, to hold its third edition of the Business Summit on US-East Africa Trade and Investment in Nairobi later this month. A report by the EAC Secretary-General Peter Mathuki to the council during its 43rd Ordinary Meeting has included four new proposals that would improve trade between the US and East Africa under Agoa. Dr Mathuki, who participated in the US-Africa Leaders' Summit in Washington DC last December, said the EAC took the position by the African presidents that Agoa be extended for 10 years, to 2035. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1160"] US President Joe Biden (C) with African leaders during a group photo session at the US-Africa Leaders Summit on December 15, 2022. PHOTO...

DOHA, 7 March — Despite the massive expansion of trade and investment over the past decades, least developed countries still face considerable challenges in effectively integrating into the global trading system and benefiting from the opportunities afforded by international trade and global value chains, speakers stressed today during the fourth of a series of high-level thematic round tables of the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries. Opening the meeting on “Enhancing the participation of least developed countries in international trade and regional integration”, Évariste Ndayishimiye, President of Burundi and Co-Chair of the eight round tables, noted that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development defines international trade as “an engine for inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction”, which helps promote sustainable development.  Almost eight years into the implementation cycle of the Sustainable Development Goals, legitimate concerns remain, he said, especially for least developed countries which remain on the margin of global trade flows and global value chains, witnessing a widening gap with advanced economies and emerging markets.  Over the past decade, these countries’ share of merchandise export has been static at 1 per cent and their share of exports of commercial services has hovered around 0.7 per cent. “These numbers demonstrate that least developed countries are yet to integrate into the global trading system,” he said.  Turning to the vulnerable situation of landlocked States, such as his own, he voiced support for South-South cooperation and noted that Burundi has joined the construction programme of a railroad linking the United Republic of...

In Summary This is part of the Enhancement of Governance and Enabling Environment in the ICT sector. The programme is being supported with a €8million (Sh1.1 billion) funding from the European Union, extended in 2021. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is pushing to have its member states implement a One Network area (ONA) to drive eCommerce growth. This is part of the Enhancement of Governance and Enabling Environment in the ICT sector (EGEE-ICT) programme in the Eastern Africa, Southern Africa, Indian Ocean (EA-SA-IO) region that also seeks to implement an eCommerce framework. The programme is being supported with a €8million (Sh1.1 billion) funding from the European Union, extended in 2021. It is a four-year programme aimed at supporting the effective review and development of various regional policy and regulatory frameworks in a harmonised manner that will contribute to enhancing competition, improved access to cost effective and secures ICT services. It is being implemented in five regional economic communities–COMESA, East African Community (EAC), Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). COMESA will play the lead role in the implementation. This will be similar to the EAC platform, where member states have been implementing measures to harmonise roaming rates. Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and South Sudan have implemented the measures, which encompasses harmonised tariffs on mobile voice calls, SMS and data transmission within the EAC. “It is not an easy task, it requires political goodwill but iam sure if we can develop...