New Rules to Ease Importing Goods into Kenya

The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has released a new set of standards intended to improve the efficiency and accountability of importing into Kenya. KAM said that it has created the new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) guide, released on 18 November 2020, to facilitate trade and boost the fight against illegal imports in order to enhance the ease of doing business in the country. The SOPs are intended to serve as a...

East Africa Read more...

Kenya: The Business Hub of East Africa

Kenya has emerged in recent years as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Given the strategic importance its coastal city Mombasa plays and the favourable regional trade memberships, Kenya has often been referred to as the key economic and commercial hub of East Africa. Services sector being the key growth driver, improving transport infrastructure and ongoing pro-business reforms continue to underpin the notable economic...

East Africa Read more...

Asimco Launches Marketing & Promotions Campaign Across East African Markets

Asimco, the leading manufacturer of premium friction products including brake pads, brake shoes, fuel pumps, brake fluids, disc rotors and shock absorbers has initiated a global marketing expansion intensifies with strategic thrust into African markets. The roll-out of the expansion is driven from its hub in Kenya and implemented through A-MAP's widespread presence in the region. ASIMCO is highly recognized for its superior...

Automobiles Sector, East Africa Read more...

Chinese-built Industrial Park Provides New Momentum to Ethiopia’s Growth

As African countries pursue industrialization, the Chinese-built industrial parks and free trade zones have been gaining momentum in the socio-economic drive of the continent, some significantly accelerating the process of industrialization and job creation. Located about 40 km south of Addis Ababa, the Eastern Industrial Zone (EIZ), built and operated by Chinese companies, is widely viewed as the benchmark for the development of...

Business Outlook, East Africa Read more...

Kenya’s Blooming Flower Industry

Kenya's economy largely relies on the agriculture sector. Horticulture sub-sector is one of the top foreign exchange earners for the country generating approximately US $ 1 billion annually. The sub-sector contributes roughly 1.25% to the national GDP while flower exports contributes nearly 1% from the flower industry. It has grown in significance to a vibrant flower industry worldwide. The flower industry is also one of the largest...

Business Outlook, East Africa Read more...

Ethiopia's Untapped Gold Deposits

In today’s Ethiopia, gold is the mineral that is the biggest hard currency earner for the country. Although Ethiopia exports other minerals including sapphire, opal, tantalum, emerald, gemstones, and marble, gold has become a focus for Ethiopia a priority sector to transform the country’s economy. The government of Ethiopia wants to use the sector as an engine of growth to propel the country’s economic growth. It hopes to...

East Africa Read more...

Djibouti Port: Trade and Logistic Hub for Africa

More than a century ago, when the old Port of Djibouti was built by the French colonisers, it was connected with a railway that linked Addis Ababa to Djibouti City. Given the size differences of the two countries – today Ethiopia’s population is more than 100 million, while Djibouti’s is less than 1 million – the port was never about trade with Djibouti, but trade with Ethiopia. It is no coincidence that today, the...

Business Outlook, East Africa Read more...

Ethiopia Opens Up Logistics Sector

The Ethiopian government has opened up its logistics sector to foreign investors for the first time, in the form of joint ventures with local firms. The country wants to attract at least $120 million of foreign direct investment into the sector by 2021. Meanwhile, the state-owned Ethiopian Shipping & Logistics Services Enterprise (ESLSE) is to be part-­privatised, and the state railway company, the Ethiopian Railway Corporation,...

Business Outlook, East Africa Read more...