Kenya

City Hall turns to Safaricom for revenue collection

Safaricom has inked a two-year deal with City Hall to offer a payment platform for Nairobi County services in a move set to lower pilferages in collecting taxes and levies.

The telco says it will develop the ‘My Nairobi App’ for City Hall for free, allowing residents and businesses to pay parking fees, business permits, rents and food and health certificates digitally.

Nairobi has for years grappled with weak revenue collection systems and corrupt officials who continue to deny the county millions of shillings in daily revenue, undermining efforts to boost own-source revenue.

(Source: Business Daily)

Tanzania

Tanzania, Switzerland sign deal to boost bilateral trade

Tanzania and Switzerland have agreed on key issues to boost bilateral trade, which currently stands at $415 million (about TSh954.5 billion).

The areas agreed upon include value addition, increasing mineral trade volume, strengthening trade links, enhancing technology transfer, and strengthening air transport ties., The Citizen understands.

Going by the data from the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security, trade volume between the two countries decreased by $183.3 million (about TSh421.6 billion) last year compared to a year before.

(Source: The Citizen)

Uganda

Data, mobile money shore up MTN profits to UgShs406bn

MTN has posted UgShs406 billion in profits due to growth in revenues from internet data and financial technology services such as mobile money. 

The telecom also grossed UgShs2.2 trillion in revenues, registering growth in all its revenue streams, save for voice, which even after registering a decline, remained MTN’s largest revenue stream. 

During the period ended December 2022, according to details contained in the telecom’s financial results, data revenues grew by 24 percent to UgShs511 billion supported by increased investment in 4G and expansion of the fibre network to 9,418 kilometres, while financial technology, which includes mobile money and Fintechs, increased by 25 percent to Shs565b due to growth in payments, bank interface and remittance lines.

(Source: Monitor)

Rwanda

New JICA country representative outlines key areas of cooperation in Rwanda

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has for a long time been a development partner with the Government of Rwanda for almost 20 years.

JICA is in charge of administering Official Development Assistance (ODA) from Japan such as Technical Cooperation, ODA loans, Grant Aid, Japanese volunteers, Public-Private-Partnership, and others.

Recently, the country office received a new chief representative, Shiotsuka Minako, with whom The New Times’ Alice Kagina discussed key areas of priority in partnership going forward.

(Source: The New Times)

Ethiopia

Pakistani investors laud FDI opportunities in Ethiopia

Pakistani Investors, who are on a business tour in Ethiopia, have appreciated the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) opportunities in the country.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, the 71-person Pakistani business delegation leader, Ibrahim K. Tawab, said the business environment in Ethiopia is amazing. Commending Prime Minister Abiy for the exceptional job that he has done in the industrial sector, he also appreciated “the outstanding and amazing hospitality” of Ethiopians.

Speaking about the conducive business environment in the industrial parks, he noted that the most significant advantage is the cost of power, which is almost a quarter of what is paid in Pakistan.

The second big advantage of FDI in Ethiopia is the exposure to the African market. “If you can capture the African market to Ethiopia, it is a huge market for us in which we get duty-free access as well.”  The delegation leader further elaborated that the infrastructure in the parks and the plug-in facility that the industrial parks are providing are another advantage.

(Source: ENA)

Eritrea

Third China-Eritrea agricultural technical cooperation project brings promising outcome

The Government of the State of Eritrea has been devising sound strategies with a view to enhancing agricultural productivity from time to time. One of these strategies is carefully selecting the appropriate plant and animal species. To this end, a number of research activities have been conducted in diverse agroecological zones of the country.

This publication has given full coverage to the Third China-Eritrea Agricultural Technical Cooperation Project, which was launched in the year 2022 pursuing an agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) of the State of Eritrea, and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Eritrea. 

(Source: Ministry of Information)

Sudan

Egypt plans to connect Sudan with high-speed rail link

The Egyptian Minister of Transport, Kamel El Wazir, announced plans for a rail link between Sudan and Egypt in a conference in Marrakech, chaired by the International Union of Railways on Wednesday. The ministry’s proposed Egypt-Sudan railway line will extend the second line of the high-speed train from Abu Simbel in southern Egypt, to Sudan’s Wadi Halfa.

According to Egyptian newspaper, El Yom El Sabi, the project is a continuation of the Egyptian government’s efforts to expand sustainable development projects.

A $2.5 million feasibility study for the 80-kilometre line between the southern Egyptian city and Wadi Halfa in northern Sudan, was funded by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, following an agreement reached between Egypt and Kuwait in April last year.

As well as providing a cost-effective means of travel between the two countries, Egypt’s International Co-operation Ministry stated in a press release last year, the rail link would “open opportunities for continued co-operation between Sudan and Egypt”, and potentially improve bilateral trade.

(Source: Dabanga)