“If you want to win the game, you cannot leave half the team on the bench.”
Trade Catalyst Africa joins the global community in celebrating International Women’s Day 2026 (IWD2026) under the theme #GiveToGain. Across Africa, women are at the heart of trade. They grow crops, manufacture goods, move products across borders, and run businesses that sustain families and communities. Yet despite their central role, women entrepreneurs and traders continue to face barriersin finance, markets, […]
With Tariffs Gone, What Comes Next
By Eve Muthoni On 1 May, China will remove tariffs on goods from 53 African countries. This will be real market access and a genuine opportunity for African exporters to scale their exports into one of the world’s largest markets. According to China’s General Administration of Customs 2025 report, trade between China and Africa has […]
East African Business & Investment Summit 2026
At the East African Business & Investment Summit 2026, Antoinette Tesha, Investments Director at Trade Catalyst Africa, participated in a panel to discuss Unlocking Private Capital for Green Logistics in East Africa. She was joined by:• Dr Eng. John Deng Diar Diing, Executive Secretary, Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA)• Mr Marteen Fonteijn, […]
ICC Kenya Business Summit 2026
By Eve Muthoni The ICC Kenya Business Summit 2026 (February 11-12) brought together business leaders, investors, development partners, and government decision-makers to shape the future of African business and trade. Over two days, leaders explored opportunities in energy transition, sustainable agriculture, digital trade, financing solutions, and digital transformation. Duncan Onyango, Chief Executive Officer of Trade […]
What Trade in Africa Needs Now
Written By Duncan Onyango On 3 February, President Donald Trump signed a law extending the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the preferential trade agreement between the US and African countries, through to December 2026. The agreement had lapsed in September 2025. I choose to read this renewal as a signal, however modest, to the […]
Trade Catalyst Africa Appoints Gabriel Negatu as Interim Board Chair and Welcomes Professor Dominic McVey MBE to the Board
Nairobi, Kenya | January 13, 2025 — Trade Catalyst Africa (TCA) announces the appointment of Gabriel Negatu as Interim Board Chair and the addition of Professor Dominic McVey MBE as a new Board Member. Mr Negatu succeeds Patrick Obath, who has concluded his tenure. As a former Director General at the African Development Bank, Mr Negatu spent 18 years working among other things on crises, […]
Financing Kenya’s Agriculture
Written By Antoinette Tesha Yesterday, I joined the panel on Building Sustainable Financing Models for Smallholder Farmers and Agricultural Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (Agri-MSMEs) at the GlobalG.A.P. Tour Stop Conference by Rootooba Limited. One statistic struck me deeply: Kenya’s commercial banks allocate approximately 4% of their lending to agriculture. This is despite the sector contributing 30–40% of GDP and employing about 40% […]
URA Convenes High-Level Meeting to Rethink Border Trade Efficiency in Eastern Africa
On Friday, 11th July, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) convened a high-level meeting with critical stakeholders to discuss innovative strategies for improving trade facilitation and optimising the performance of One-Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) across the region. The session brought together officials from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), TradeMark Africa (TMA), and Trade Catalyst Africa (TCA). […]
Africa’s Trade Crunch and What Trade Catalyst Africa is Doing About It
By Duncan Onyango At the Holili–Taveta border, long-haul driver Edwin Lasti recalls waiting for up to a month for clearance processes to be completed. “Because of the OSBP and the digitalisation of processes, you can now get cleared within a day,” he says. However, in places where no One-Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) exist, drivers still […]
Stitching Together Success: Reflections from The Africa Sourcing Fashion Week
By Antoinette Tesha The Africa Sourcing Fashion Week (ASFW) was a fantastic event that provided a platform to connect with industry leaders, new manufacturers and suppliers, showcasing Africa’s burgeoning potential in fashion and garment production. Yet, beneath all the great energy lies a stark reality: Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) textiles and garment industry contributes just 1.9% of […]