Africa has been on a long journey to reduce its reliance on overseas institutions and countries. When fully implemented, AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a flagship project of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 to ensure inclusive trading, is expected to reduce reliance on imports and spur intra-African trade. This, according to Standard Chartered’s Future of Trade: Africa Report, intra-Africa trade is set to grow by 3.9% per annum and reach Sh20.99 trillion ($140 billion) by 2035. The increase is set to be as a result of double-digit growth in not only intra-regional trade in East and West Africa but also…
Author: Antony mutunga
The government will introduce a fee on government and private-sector services offered at Huduma Centres in a move aimed making the centres self-sustaining, Public Secretary Moses Kuria has announced. “We are going to introduce a fee for service, be it government and private sector services to support our e-commerce because Huduma Centres can be the backbone of our national e-commerce initiatives,” he said. Since 2013 when the first Huduma centre was launched by former President Uhuru Kenyatta at the General Post Office in Nairobi, the centres, which stand at 52 currently, have been dependent on funding from the government. This…
Insecurity has increased in Africa as several countries face coups and civil unrest. West Africa has been most affected as countries such as Burkina Faso, Guinea, Benin, Togo, and Mali have continued to face instability since 2021. The rising cases have brought about memories of the region’s instability in the 1990s and early 2000s. With no end in sight, these cases of rising instability have negatively affected education in the area and the continent’s economic growth. According to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), over the…
Without a doubt, digitalization is a key plant in Africa’s progress. It has seen a number of organizations in the continent grow and expand to international levels. Furthermore, apart from assisting in growing revenue, digital integration has changed the lives of many. For example, according to Senegalese businesswoman Adja Sembene Fall, who recently won the African Development Bank’s AgriPitch competition women-owned business category, digitizing in marketing was key to the success of her tea company, evening with a meagre starting capital. It is for this reason and to shape the future of Africa’s digital infrastructure landscape that industry leaders and…
For the last decade, African start-ups have become quite popular, attracting billions in investment. However, most start-ups have failed due to financial and technological barriers hindering growth. This has been the case across all sectors, from the financial industry to health. As a result, AstraZeneca and Futurize, an eco-crowd funding platform that focuses on tackling humanity’s biggest challenges, have partnered up to launch a new incubator program that aims to help African start-ups in the health sector establish themselves. The incubator program, FuturizeU, is dedicated to nurturing early-stage university startups in Africa’s healthcare sector. Its core mission is to equip…
The sectors that propelled Kenya to the top of the economic table have either stagnated or lost their lustre for investors For decades, Kenya has been the leading country in East Africa. The economy has been attracting investors and international organizations to her shores, making her the favourite destination in Eastern Africa. Many have come to see the country as the key economic and commercial hub of East Africa. For instance, the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) is the UN’s headquarters in Africa and one of the four main UN secretariat duty stations. This shows how important Kenya’s position…
As leaders and delegates from all over the world gathered at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi for the Africa Climate Summit & Africa Climate Week 2023 since the 4th of September, the main topic has been the promotion of green energy and finance solutions to handle the climate crisis the world is facing. Africa has been active in the uptake of green energy but the continent still continues in its exploration of oil and gas causing activists to condemn African leaders as they consider these energy sources as dirty. However, knowing their advantage to Africa, the African…
As the majority of Africa’s youth continue to face unemployment and scarce opportunites for gain, and with many African economies witnessing a slow recovery following COVID and global inflation, entrepreneur and artist, Gathige Maina is making it his mission to educate youth on the opportunities that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offers . It has been over four years since AfCFTA came into force, and even though not fully implemented, intra-African trade has improved. According to the United Nations Economic Commission For Africa (UNECA), the levels of intra-African trade have increased from 13% or so, before the African…
The African Union has launched the African Union One Health Data Alliance Africa Project to optimize the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems by recognizing their interconnectedness and interdependence. The project was launched at a workshop by the African Union – Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) held between the 14th and 15th of August at Naivasha. The One Health approach seeks to unify human health, animal health, and the environment and aims to balance the well-being of various living organisms and ecosystems. It will highlight the need for collaborative efforts to ensure clean water, energy, air, safe food, and…
For a long time, Africa has been dictated to in its internal affairs, including trade, politics, and governance, among others. Long denied, owing to the configuration of global geopolitics, a driver’s seat in determining its agenda, the relationship between the continent and the West has worsened as the West has focussed more on defending and advancing its interests and meshed the continent in long-running loans. During that time, Africa has made a tactical shift to the East, with China overtaking the US as Africa’s biggest trading partner. As a result of the growing trade between China and Africa, BRICS (Brazil,…
