The World Food Programme (WFP) has reported key areas of its food safety and quality work in East Africa in 2023. WFP’s approach to food safety and quality involves oversight at all supply chain stages, from production and processing to storage, handling, and distribution. In 2023, WFP’s regional bureau for Eastern Africa managed 59 food incidents, with three categorized as critical, 17 as major, and nine as minor. The amount of food impacted was 72,985 metric tons, a 50 percent decrease from 164,790 metric tons in 2022. WFP said this highlights the effectiveness of implemented controls and interventions in mitigating food loss and ensuring food quality and safety. Oversight of suppliers During the Sudan crisis, WFP Food Safety and Quality followed emergency response protocols. This included waiving food inspections for early releases and dispatches and streamlining the supplier qualification process for low and medium-risk foods. Supplier audits and assessments involved checking compliance with regulations, managing risks, improving operational efficiency, and monitoring the performance of existing suppliers. There were 18 support and oversight missions to country offices. Following the introduction of Food Safety and Quality (FSQ) corporate guidelines in 2022, WFP’s food safety and quality unit at the regional bureau undertook field missions to country offices, including Rwanda, South Sudan, Djibouti, and Kenya. The aim was to enhance risk mitigation strategies within the WFP supply chain and facilitate the integration of FSQ practices into the operations and programs across operations. The Food Safety and Quality Terrain (FOSTER) platform manages five WFP...

The Council on 30 May 2024, adopted a decision on the conclusion of the EU-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). This will boost trade in goods and create new economic opportunities, with targeted cooperation to enhance Kenya's economic development. This agreement will strengthen our cooperation with Kenya, the economic hub of East Africa. Workers, businesses, and traders on both sides will benefit from this shared commitment to sustainable development, including labour rights, the environment and climate action.  The agreement will provide duty-free, quota-free EU market access to all exports from Kenya (except arms) as soon as it enters into force, as well as partial and gradual opening of the Kenyan market to imports from the EU.  The agreement includes binding provisions on trade and sustainable development, such as climate and environmental protection and labour rights, and a transparent dispute resolution mechanism. This is the most ambitious economic partnership agreement the EU will have with a developing country when it comes to sustainability provisions.  The EU is Kenya's first export destination and second largest trading partner, totalling €3.3 billion of trade in 2022 - an increase of 27% compared to 2018.  The agreement will enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date on which the parties have notified each other of the completion of their respective internal procedures.  Read original article

Arusha. The UK has unveiled a significant package to strengthen economic ties with Tanzania, focusing on the growth of the nation’s horticulture sector. Announced on Tuesday in Arusha, the initiative promises to offer duty-free access to UK markets for Tanzanian horticultural exports, underscoring the UK’s commitment to cultivating mutually beneficial trade relations with the resource-rich nation. The announcement came during a high-profile business-to-business (B2B) event that attracted 17 horticultural exporting companies, organised by the Tanzania Horticultural Association (Taha) in partnership with the UK High Commissioner, Mr David Concar. In his opening speech, the UK’s Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy, Mr Lord Wanley, affirmed the UK’s dedication to fostering robust trade links with Tanzania. “Our nation is steadfast in its commitment to establishing fair and free trade channels with Tanzania, alongside 64 other countries within our Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS),” Lord Wanley conveyed to the 17 horticultural exporting companies in attendance at the Taha headquarters. The DCTS, a hallmark of the UK’s global trade strategy, grants eligible countries duty-free market access for their exports. Highlighting the UK’s recent move to eliminate tariffs on flowers from East Africa, Lord Wanley emphasised Tanzania’s strategic advantage in capitalising on this liberalised trade framework. The United Kingdom Government temporarily eliminated the global tariff on cut flowers in April 2024, reducing it from 8 percent to zero percent from April 11, 2024, to June 30, 2026. Read: Tanzania's horticulture gets lucrative new market This commendable policy shift is anticipated to have transformative impacts on the flower industry in...

British buyers are currently in Rwanda engaging with women-led horticulture businesses to explore potential trade deals for products such as chilli, avocados, passion fruits, fresh French beans, and other horticultural products. The visit is part of a Rwanda-UK trade mission running from May 28 to 31. Organised by the International Trade Center (ITC), in partnership with TradeMark Africa and Mastercard Foundation, the mission will feature business-to-business (B2B) meetings and farm visits. "This Rwanda-UK trade mission aims to strengthen bilateral trade and the horticulture sector between the UK and Rwanda," Dr. Michelle Kristy, Programme Management Officer at ITC, said after the mission’s opening on Tuesday, May 28. "What makes this trade mission special is our collaboration with several UK-based chambers of commerce, including the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce," Kristy added.   Dr. Michelle Kristy, Programme Management Officer at International Trade Center (ITC) moderates a panel discussion during the Rwanda-UK Trade Mission in Kigali on Tuesday, May 28. The event, Kristy further noted, involves eight UK companies in the horticulture sector and 17 women-led businesses in Rwanda participating in B2B meetings and tailored company visits. The activities are designed to foster engagement and build strong, trust-based business relationships. "We expect this mission will not only generate trade leads but also result in concrete business deals from the discussions taking place this week," Kristy said. ALSO READ: Rwanda to export flowers to UK at zero tariff Dennis Gatera, the Head of Transaction Structuring and Support at Rwanda Development Board, lauded the mission, underlining that...

TradeMark Africa (TMA) participera et contribuera aux discussions lors de l'examen global de l'aide au commerce de l'Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC), qui se tiendra à Genève du 26 au 28 juin 2024 sous le thème "Intégrer le commerce". Rejoignez-nous pour présenter et mener des discussions sur les progrès réalisés dans la réduction des coûts et des délais du commerce grâce aux interventions des TIC sur le corridor nord de l'Afrique de l'Est ; les progrès de l'Afrique de l'Est dans la construction d'un corridor commercial numérique, qui a élevé l'intégration économique régionale et l'efficacité du commerce ; et explorer comment les systèmes de marché et le commerce intra régional peuvent combler le fossé de la pénurie alimentaire en Afrique. Pour en savoir plus sur le 9e examen global de l'aide au commerce de l'OMC, cliquez ici: https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/devel_e/a4t_e/global_review24_e/global_review24_e.htm Consultez et ajoutez nos sessions à vos favoris, ici https://www.trademarkafrica.com/tma-at-wto/

La Commission de la Communauté économique des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (CEDEAO), en collaboration avec la Banque africaine de développement (BAD), a récemment organisé à Accra, au Ghana, un atelier de consultation et de validation des parties prenantes pour l'étude de l'Initiative de développement spatial (IDS) du rapport intérimaire pour le corridor Abidjan-Lagos. Les experts ont délibéré sur les résultats de l'étude SDI, y compris une feuille de route complète pour le développement du corridor Abidjan-Lagos, en tenant compte des facteurs économiques, sociaux, environnementaux et logistiques, ce qui leur permettra d'obtenir le financement et le soutien des organisations internationales, des gouvernements et des investisseurs privés. Sediko DOUKA, Commissaire de la CEDEAO pour l'infrastructure, l'énergie et la numérisation, représenté par M. Chris APPIAH, Directeur par intérim des transports de la CEDEAO, à l'ouverture de l'atelier, a souligné que le projet d'autoroute du corridor Abidjan-Lagos était mis en œuvre non seulement comme un projet routier, mais aussi comme un "corridor de développement économique" intégré qui catalysera également le déploiement d'autres secteurs importants tels que le commerce, l'industrie, l'agriculture, l'énergie, l'environnement, les TIC et le tourisme. Le projet de développement du corridor routier Abidjan-Lagos, mis en œuvre par la CEDEAO, est une autoroute supranationale de 1 028 km qui constitue une partie importante du réseau routier transafricain. Le corridor autoroutier reliera les principaux ports et zones urbaines d'Afrique de l'Ouest, à savoir Lagos, Abidjan, Accra, Cotonou et Lomé. Il contribuera ainsi à stimuler le commerce et l'intégration en Afrique de l'Ouest, en...

The interest by Ethiopia and Uganda in importing goods through Lamu could be the lifeline that the largely moribund port needs even as it continues to register growth in business. Last week Ethiopia received the first shipment of 60,000 tonnes of fertiliser imported through the Port of Lamu from Morocco. And this week Uganda signalled an interest in using the Lamu port in a move that would see it expand trade with Somalia. Kenya’s Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen toured the port on Wednesday and said it is strategically positioned to be the port of call for goods destined for northern Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. “That’s why we will do all in our power to facilitate the shipment of goods, including the 60,000-tonne fertiliser cargo destined for Ethiopia, in spite of a damaged section of the Lamu-Witu-Garsen road due to floods.” This is the first time Ethiopia is importing cargo through Lamu Port since its operationalisation three years ago. In 2022, the port handled 6,539 metric tonnes of cargo, a figure that jumped to 37,576 metric tonnes in 2023. Container traffic has also seen a rise, with twenty-foot equivalent units increasing from 382 in 2022 to 1,779 in 2023. Ethiopian cargo is handled through Mombasa, which is expensive. Despite its higher operational costs compared to Djibouti, Mombasa in the past two years benefited from Ethiopian freight cargo volumes increasing from 6,915 metric tonnes in 2022 to 14,383 metric tonnes last year due to its relative stability and...

A few weeks ago, while in India to undertake due diligence on a fintech firm we are interested in doing business with, I observed how things work to better understand what drives the economy. In an election year, it wasn’t difficult to discern the government’s key message: Over $400 billion spent in the past decade on direct cash benefits to 900 million people in low-income households. India has one of the largest cash transfer programmes with an annual handout of 6,000 rupees to over 110 million farmers. It does this through a social infrastructure, the ‘JAM Trinity’ linking bank accounts (Jan Dhan Yojana), biometric national identity cards (Aadhar cards) and mobile numbers. Benefits include pensions, subsidies and loans delivered via transfers to bank accounts linked to biometric national ID cards held by over a billion Indians—akin to linking Huduma cards with M-Pesa numbers for transparency. Financial Inclusion 101. Banking systems The greatest achievement of this trinity is the ability for fintechs to collaborate and integrate their technologies with core banking systems to enable financial access. Interoperability of these systems is regulated to enable eKYC, digital credit underwriting and customer data protection compliance. Watching the local origination teams going about their business is a sight to behold. Turnaround time reduction is real and a task that would take days takes minutes. It takes a couple of minutes for a credit decision to be made and a maximum of four days for the money to hit the bank account. Trust is a...

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB), has organized a Stakeholder Consultation and Validation Workshop for the Spatial Development Initiative (SDI) study of the Interim Report for the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor from May 14 to 16, 2024, in Accra, Ghana. The three-day workshop brought together experts from the ECOWAS Department of Infrastructure, the ECOWAS Project Preparation and Development Unit (PPDU), the Canadian Pacific Consulting Services (CPCS), representatives of the Ministries of Infrastructure of the Corridor countries and project focal points, some representatives of other State Departments and Agencies who are considered stakeholders of the Project, the African Development Bank, the European Union, UEMOA, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organization (ALCO), the World Bank, JICA, AFEXIMBANK, Trade Mark Africa (TMA), the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, and the West African Development Bank (BOAD). The experts deliberated on the results of the SDI study, including a comprehensive roadmap for the development of the Abidjan-Lagos corridor, considering economic, social, environmental, and logistical factors, that will enable them to obtain funding and support from international organizations, governments, and private investors. The SDI study aims to (i) identify and unlock the region's inherent and latent economic potential and ensure the commercial viability of the project as well as the economic and industrial value chains, (ii) provide tools and methodology for an economic survey, (iii) propose a mechanism for building consensus among all key project stakeholders, (iv) shed light on...

Les agences commerciales kényanes, avec le soutien de TradeMark Africa (TMA) et le financement de partenaires internationaux tels que le Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) du Royaume-Uni au Kenya, progressent dans l'amélioration des processus d'importation et d'exportation. Ces améliorations rendent le commerce plus rapide et plus rentable, ce qui profite aux commerçants du pays et de la région. Une mission récente a permis d'évaluer l'impact du partenariat établi. Lors d'une récente visite au Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) et à l'Inland Container Depot (ICDN) de Nairobi, des fonctionnaires de TMA et de FCDO, ainsi que des représentants du KEBS et de la Kenya Ports Authority, ont évalué l'impact des projets menés dans les laboratoires du KEBS et à l'Inland Container Depot (ICDN) de Nairobi, qui sont conçus pour garantir la qualité des produits et la gestion des cargaisons. La mission a pris note des principales réalisations des cinq dernières années, telles que la numérisation des systèmes commerciaux. La mise en œuvre du système intégré de gestion des douanes (iCMS), ainsi que des initiatives telles que le territoire douanier unique de la Communauté de l'Afrique de l'Est (CAE) et le système électronique régional de suivi des marchandises (RECTS) ont permis de réduire de plus de 30 % les délais d'attente des marchandises à l'ICDN. Ces améliorations ont permis de décongestionner le port de Mombasa et de faciliter la circulation des marchandises dans le corridor nord du Kenya. En collaboration avec TMA, financée par le FCDO, la KEBS a mis en...