The African Union has designated 2023 as the “Year of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)” and aims to accelerate implementation and expand the operational phase of the project. The AfCFTA is the world’s largest active free trade area in terms of members, population, and geographic size – 54 African states are signatories and 47 have ratified the AfCFTA Agreement which encompasses over 1.4bn people across the entire African...

South Africa faces a precarious fresh water situation, which has seen major cities suffer from severe supply restrictions and limitations on use in recent years. Most notably, Western Cape province experienced severe drought in 2017-18, which seriously threatened water supplies for households and businesses located in the province and reduced electricity supplies from hydroelectric facilities. Indeed, Cape Town almost became the first major...

Nigeria has long been a hotbed of business start-ups in the African technology sector and the “Yabacon Valley” in Lagos has emerged as a tech hub that rivals other key African tech locations in Nairobi (Kenya) and Cape Town (South Africa). Lagos is among the leading recipients of start-up funding in Africa, plays host e-commerce heavyweights, such as Jumia and Konga, and has given a platform for some of Africa’s best known tech...

Kenya and the five other members of the East African Community (EAC) have decided to expand their joint trade footprint and fully roll out the trade bloc’s single customs territory (SCT). The SCT commenced in 2014 as a pilot project that largely centred on the Northern Transport Corridor running from the Kenyan port of Mombasa through to other countries in the region. The SCT arrangements include a common external tariff (CET) structure...

Tanzania has introduced various new rules and regulations in the mining space since the beginning of 2016, which has raised some concerns among international mining companies about populist policies and natural resource nationalisation. For instance, the government banned coal imports in mid-2016 and then banned the export of unprocessed minerals in early 2017. Following this, and in response to a parliamentary committee report that suggested...

Uganda (together with Tanzania and Rwanda) are currently subject to an out-of-cycle review of eligibility for preferential trade terms with the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The eligibility review has been brought about by the decision to ban the import of used clothing by member states of the East African Community, in their struggle to protect local producers and supply chains from cheap imported goods. Trading...