More than 30 private sector companies have so far applied for grants in the first round of TradeMark Africa’s Logistics Innovation for Trade, or LIFT, fund, which was launched in Europe last month. With such funds typically attracting a deluge of applications in the final days before a round closes, many more are expected to submit proposals between now and the March 31 deadline, according to Clara Garcia Parra, a consultant at Nathan Associates, which is managing the fund. A number of the firms applying are multinationals. Backed by the U.K. Department for International Development, the LIFT fund has raised $16 million to provide challenge grants ranging from $250,000 to $750,000 to help companies develop new ways of cutting the cost and time involved when trading goods within East Africa. Its aim is to encourage the private sector to invest in East Africa’s logistics and transportation industry, testing out fresh innovations that will help bring down the significant barriers to trade that slow the region’s economic development. The idea is that LIFT will shoulder part of the perceived risk of investing in East Africa and reduce the cost of entry for companies eyeing the region, TMA CEO Frank Matsaert told Devex. This will not only inject expertise into the sector but will stimulate price competition into “what are fairly cartelized niches.” Transport costs in East Africa are around 60 percent higher than those in the United States or Europe, many supply chains are underdeveloped, and the logistics industry lacks technological...

East African countries on Wednesday vowed to harmonize policy and regulatory frameworks to enhance response to the menace of electronic waste (e-waste) that poses serious threats to human and ecological health. Policy makers and experts from the region said in Nairobi that countries will share best practices and roll out joint programs to promote management of e-waste. "E-Waste is an emerging environmental challenge across the east African region thanks to increasing demand for electronic devices like mobile phones, tablets and computers," said Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Environment Judi Wakhungu. She said disjointed policy and regulatory frameworks, infrastructural and resource gaps hampered sustainable management of e-waste in the region. Pollution occasioned by unsafe disposal of obsolete electronic gadgets is to blame for a spike in life threatening diseases across the east African region. Wakhungu said tused electronic gadgets are being disposed into landfills adjacent to residential premises and sensitive ecosystems. "E-waste when burnt causes air pollution through release of toxic emissions. "Poor disposal blocks water channels and compromises scenic beauty," Wakhungu said, adding that East African countries should explore innovative but homegrown measures to contain the menace of e-waste. She said investment in recycling facilities and technical skills will promote management of e-waste while creating jobs for youth and women. "Recycling makes business sense because end of life electronic devices contain precious metals such as gold, silver and copper. "Establishment of vibrant treatment facilities will unleash environmental and economic benefits to the East African Community," Wakhungu said. Kenya has established two...

A total of 12 Scottish organisations including Dundee University have joined the Scottish Development International organised trip to research the oil and gas sector in Mozambique and Tanzania. The mission is in response to a visit two years ago to Scotland by the then president of Mozambique calling for Scotland’s support to develop the sector. Gary Soper, SDI’s manager in the region, said the oil and gas plays in the region were hugely significant. “East Africa is a pioneering market, and with 150 trillion ft3 of gas discovered off the East Africa coast in deep water, Scotland’s unrivalled deep-water subsea delivery and offshore experience makes us the perfect partner to help bring it into production.” Existing operators in the region include ENI, BG, Shell, Ophir, and Petrobras, and they are collectively investing around
$2 billion to bring fields to production. Local oil and gas regulations mean a significant percentage of any development must be delivered locally — a condition that opens up opportunities for organisations involved in education and training. It is estimated that around 25,000 people will require training at a technical and vocational level, as well as access to higher education as the basin matures. Five of the 12 organisations on the mission, including the Dundee University delegates, are focused on this area. “We know there are huge opportunities for Scottish education companies in Mozambique and Tanzania and, working together, we aim to help our institutions and companies make the right connections and capitalise on the opportunities,” Mr Soper...

INVESTMENT in Africa’s mega projects surged by 46 per cent to $326 billion last year, led by heavy investment in transport, energy and power, according to the third yearly Deloitte African Construction Trends report, which monitors progress on capital intensive infrastructure on the continent. To qualify for inclusion in the Deloitte African Construction Trends report, projects must be valued at more than $50 million and had to have broken ground by at least June 1, 2014. While the number of projects that qualified for inclusion in the 2014 report fell to 257 from 322 in the preceeding year, the total value of projects under construction increased from $222.77 billion in 2013. “Africa’s rapidly growing middle class continues to drive demand for sustainable social infrastructure,” said Andre Pottas, Regional Director at Deloitte. “Africa is en route to a brighter future and overall we see the opportunities surpassing the challenges facing our continent.” Of the projects included in the 2014 Deloitte African Construction Trends report, no less than 143 were led by the public sector with a further 88 being private sector initiatives and 26 classified as public private partnerships (PPPs). Energy and power accounted for 37 per cent of the number of mega projects undertaken in Africa in 2014, followed by transport (34 per cent); mining (nine per cent); real estate (six per cent); water (five per cent); oil and gas (four per cent); mixed use facilities (two per cent); and health care (one per cent). “More than 10 per cent...

Ethiopia will be hosting the 34th COMESA policy organ meetings that start on March 20 this week, leading up to the 18th COMESA Summit of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa concluding on March 31. State Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Ahmed Shide, briefed journalists on the program, pointing out that there would be nine Summit sessions and the theme would be "inclusive and sustainable industrialization". The Summit will be preceded by the Council of Ministers meeting whose mandate is to monitor COMESA activities, including supervision of the Secretariat. In his briefing to the media, Ahmed emphasized the trade of COMESA (the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) had been growing but there was still a long way to go and the regional bloc needed to do more. However, there had been important developments under COMESA's regional integration agenda in intra-regional trade and the volume had increased. The State Minister said the opportunity of the Summit would help Ethiopia reaffirm its support to COMESA and share national best practices with other countries. He also noted that road links between member countries and ongoing railway investments, as well as the East Africa power system improvement were all boosting the capacity of COMESA member states and their capability to generate more wealth and opportunities to expand trade. Ethiopia is taking over the chairmanship of COMESA for the next year from DRC. Source: All Africa

While the continent has seen increased trade with global powerhouses such as China and India, Africa’s formal trade flows are generally hampered by poor infrastructure and bureaucratic systems that lead to long delays at ports and borders, and increase transportation costs. Furthermore, formal regional trade within Africa remains the lowest in the world. Compared with trade between borders in Europe (around 70%) and Asia (50%), intra-African trade averaged around a measly 10-12% over the past decade, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). However, according to Ecobank’s head of research, Edward George, formal trade paints a very small picture of overall trade flows on the continent, with informal trade being comparatively innovative. And one example of this can be seen in illicit Somali trade across East and Central Africa. Understanding Somalia’s informal trade During a presentation at the Africa Trade & Export Finance Conference held in Cape Town last week, George said large volumes of goods transported across the Indian Ocean often do not make it to their destination ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam. In many instances these goods end up at Somali ports – particularly Bosaso, Kismayo and Mogadishu – where they then enter the informal trade network. “These flows really are the hidden underbelly of East Africa trade,” he highlighted. “There are no reliable estimates for the size of the flows, and I wouldn’t dare hazard a guess. But anyone trading goods in East Africa will tell you that the Somalis control the...

On the banks of Lake Geneva in Switzerland this 16-17 March, more than 500 business leaders, bankers and politicians will gather for the annual Africa CEO Forum. Some of the themes to be debated – finance, urban growth and the role of state and market – are argued about everywhere on the planet. Here, The Africa Report talks to several chief executives to understand the concerns of African managers amidst the shifting global economic currents in 2015. There has been a slow but sure rise in intra-African trade, but it remains hamstrung by politicians' inability to dismantle trade barriers. Africa trades 12% with itself, where Asia and Latin America have internal trade levels of about 60%. There are now some causes for optimism: three large trade blocs plan to fuse, with an official announce- ment expected in Cairo in May. The tripartite agreement between the Southern African Development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the East African Community should create a free-trade zone across Eastern and Southern Africa that encompasses 625 million people, 26 countries and a gross domestic product of $1.2trn. Infrastructure concerns are also being addressed in many African countries and regions. There has never been such a solid pipeline of power, port, road and rail projects in Africa. Importantly, regional infrastructure such as power pools and cross-border transport projects are also being tackled, such as East Africa's rail projects to link Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. Bonds and bourses In the...

Trade volumes and the number of roaming mobile phone calls across East Africa have increased following efforts by regional leaders to further open up the bloc to members. A Kenyan official in the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority, Mr Joseph Nyaga, said voice calls across the four countries have increased by over 1,000 per cent. Those from Kenya have gone up by 260 per cent. At the same time, the length of time taken to clear cargo at Mombasa Port has reduced as well as movement of goods by road from the facility to Kampala and Kigali. It now takes seven days, compared to 12 in 2007-2008. Mr Nyaga, who is a former Cabinet minister, spoke last week during the launch of a report on the impact of the Northern Corridor in the region. ASSESS PROGRESS “The four presidents (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda) commissioned the report to assess the progress made since efforts were initiated to ease movement of goods and people in the region,” he said. Other factors that have opened up the region include a common market protocol that allows easier movement of people, use of identity cards to cross borders, issuance of East African tourist visa and creation of one network area where roaming mobile phone call charges have been standardised. Mr Nyaga said a study would be conducted to assess the impact of roaming charges on SMS, data and mobile financial services. Another measure that has boosted trade volumes include reduction of air...

Gaborone — The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Vincent Seretse recently attended the meetings of the SADC task force on regional economic integration and the SADC Council of Ministers respectively. A press release from the ministry stated that the former meeting, fed into the latter, which considered inter alia the following: Council considered the update in relation to the progress made towards the launching of the Continental Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) negotiations in July 2015 by the African Union heads of state and government. To that end, the release said the council had urged SADC member states to prepare for the launch with the view to frontloading industrialisation so that it can take the centre stage alongside market integration. "Council appreciated the progress on the ongoing negotiations for the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement (TFTA) between SADC, the East African Community (EAC), and the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA)," reads the release. It said the council had instructed the SADC policy organs to meet in advance of the launch of the TFTA by heads of state and government in June 2015 in Egypt, and to the extent possible, harmonise SADC positions leading thereto. Furthermore, it says the council has also endorsed the SADC candidate for the presidency of the African Development Bank, Mr Thomas Sakala, and urged member states to give him material and/or other support in his campaign for the position and also considered and recommended to summit, for approval, the resolution on the establishment of...

Lusaka- The planned launch of the Grand Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) by three African Regional Economic Communities earmarked for Egypt by the middle of this year may be delayed after it emerged that stakeholders involved in discussions have reached a deadlock on various phsytosanitary and other trade related issues mainly affecting land locked countries. A report from by the Technical Working Group meeting held in Malawi recently reveals that the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA); Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC) have failed to agree on key trade related issues, which were raised at the meeting over the planned launch of the FTA which had been pushed to May this year from December last year. Over the years, the three regional economic blocs have been making frantic efforts to have their 26-member states come together to form one common market commonly referred to as the Tripartite Free Trade Area. The enlarged FTA will create a wider market covering 26 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, nearly half of the African Union membership, with a combined population of approximately 600 million people spanning from Cape to Cairo. However, the Malawi meeting failed to agree on some key trade issues relating to phsytosanitary standards, which deal with dairy, fish products, rules of origin for various products, as well as other areas relating to imports mainly for landlocked countries such as Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Working Technical Group’s report seen by The...