KAMPALA, UGANDA- Africa needs to take advantage of the economic potential of its ports and shipping sector if it is to realise its growth ambitions. Globally, ports are gateways for 80% of merchandise trade by volume and 70% by value. Investment in ports and their related transport infrastructure to advance trade and promote […]
EAC
EAC cross-border payments easier
Last month, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda quietly linked their Real Time Gross Settlement systems. Perhaps because it came so close to the festive season, the general public did not take too much notice. But there must have been some very loud and relieved sighs among the business people. A major barrier to the flow […]
Nairobi’s modern logistics centre attracts E-commerce operator
NAIROBI, Kenya–Africa Logistics Properties (ALP) has signed a long term lease for nearly 4,500 sqm of its flagship ALP North Logistics Warehousing Complex with Copia Global, the fast growing e-commerce FMCG distributor that specialises in supplying rural Kenya. ALP is currently constructing Kenya’s first international standard grade-A logistics warehousing on two sites in Nairobi. ALP […]
National Bank of Rwanda issues five year bond worth 15bn Francs
KIGALI, Rwanda–The government of Rwanda through the National Bank of Rwanda has successfully issued a five year bond worth 15 billion Rwandan Francs. According to a press statement released by the bank, it said that the issuance has been successful with a very high subscription level of 263.0% from 107 applications received from different categories […]
Help EAC energy projects become bankable Dev’t partners urged
KIGALI, Rwanda–The EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors Hon. Christophe Bazivamo, has called on development partners to support the EAC region in the implementation of bankable priority energy projects. “This is a call for strong commitment to ensure that energy is available, accessible and the people of EAC enjoy it. […]
Smuggling-concealment of goods still rife along boarder points
KAMPALA, Uganda–The Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Planning and Economic Development, has concluded a five-day visit to customs border stations in Northern and Eastern Uganda. The Committee chaired by Hon Henry Musasizi (Rubanda County East) visited the customs border stations of Busia, Malaba, Elegu, Afogi, Oraba, Lia, Vurra and Pakwach. The field visit, which ended Sunday, […]
AFDB-export trading group sign $100m loan
Johannesburg, South Africa–The African Development Bank has signed a loan agreement for a soft commodity finance facility (SCFF) with the Export Trading Group (ETC). This Facility is innovatively structured as two successive loans of US $100 million, each with a tenor of up to 2 years, thus signifying the African Development Bank’s strong commitment to […]
EAC seeks supplementary budget
ARUSHA,Tanzania – The EAC recently presented a Supplementary Budget Speech to the House seeking the go-ahead to expend an additional USD 2,143,960 for the Financial Year 2013/14 to meet its programmes. At the same time, the Assembly debated and adopted the Report of the Committee on Legal Rules and Privileges on the Assessment of Adherence […]
‘Cashless Cities’ could yield 3% average GDP growth
Nairobi, Kenya–Relying more on electronic payments, such as cards and mobile payments, could yield a net benefit of up to U.S. $470 billion per year across 100 cities around the world – roughly the equivalent to 3% of the average GDP for these cities. These are the findings of an independent study conducted by Roubini […]
Liquid Telecom Rwanda launches Office 365 for businesses
KIGALI, Rwanda–Liquid Telecom Rwanda, a subsidiary of leading pan-African telecoms group Liquid Telecom, is now offering Office 365 to businesses of all sizes in Rwanda accessed through its leading-edge fibre network. The full suite of Office 365 products is now available to customers in Rwanda enabling them to easily and securely work with colleagues, customers, […]
EAC Revenue Authorities meet in Dar es Salaam
KIGALI, Rwanda–The East African Community (EAC) secretariat has convened a meeting of the Single Customs Territory (SCT) aimed at reviewing export process, procedure manuals for the different member states. The five-days meeting scheduled from March 25 to March 29th in Dar Es Salaam, is attended by members of different technical working groups from five Revenue […]
Djibouti to partner PIL & CMA CGM in building Doraleh ports
Djibouti is in talks with shipping companies PIL and CMA CGM to develop ports in Doraleh. The agreement includes adding additional containers to the existing terminal and constructing a brand new port at an initial cost of $660 million. Once built, the Doraleh International Container Terminal will have an annual capacity of 2.4 million TEUs […]
UNBS gazettes 76 consumer protection standards
KAMPALA, Uganda–In an effort to protect the health and safety of consumers and the environment, the Uganda National Bureau of Standards has gazetted 76 new compulsory standards, according to the latest issue of the Uganda Standards Gazette. The compulsory standards are part of the 254 standards approved by the National Standards Council (NSC), the governing […]