President Ruto bags a host of trade and energy deals

As Kenya spearheads efforts for the continent to join the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTFA), President William Ruto’s government has established the tone for economic diplomacy on the regional and continental fronts. In addition to four other agreements that would address non-tariff barriers like

4th November Trade and Financial Services Round Up

Kenya Dollar crisis piles pressure on Sh75bn State firms foreign debt State-owned enterprises (SoEs) are sitting on non-guaranteed foreign currency debt worth Sh74.9 billion, exposing them to higher financing costs due to the sharp depreciation of the shilling against the US dollar. The dollar loans

AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative: How long before full African integration?

The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) is a temporary intervention of the AfCFTA secretariat that rolled out last week on Friday, October 7, 2022, on the fringes of the 10th Council of Ministers meeting held in Ghana. The initiative nudged

Unpacking Kenya AfCFTA National Implementation Strategy 2022-2027

Recently, Kenya was selected among several countries that would initiate trading under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). The pilot phase is meant to test environmental, legal and trade policy basis for intra-African trade.Trading under the AfCFTA provides great opportunities such as a combined

Nairobi International Financial Centre and Kenya’s Critical Development Path

The set-up of the Nairobi International Financial Centre is a major milestone in Kenya’s ongoing efforts to become an Upper Middle-Income Country (UMIC). While its significance will largely become clear with time, the set-up of International Financial Centres (IFCs) generally, often are precursors for market

Private Sector Engagement in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

The World’s largest Free Trade Area is finally here with us covering a market of 1.27bn people with a combined GDP of 3.4 trillion US dollars. The region does enter the agreement with great momentum around trade: Exports have grown by nearly a factor of

FTA Series – Part 4 : Unpacking the US-KE Free Trade Area Agreement

Although Kenya may not feature as one of the top ten importers for the US market, the textile and apparel industry has the potential to alleviate the unemployment crisis in the country

FTA Series – Part 2: African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement

The AfCFTA offers a unique opportunity to develop an inclusive trade system and economic model by increasing intra-continental trade; but in order to trade, Africa first has to produce; and not just primary commodities. However, the AfCFTA will only promote intra-African trade if governments actually implement it

FTA Series – Part 1: What you need to know

A population estimated at 1.3 billion predominantly made up of young people and with an
abundance of natural resources, Africa presents market opportunities, a growing labour force
and raw materials for manufacturing.