Financing Kenya’s Agriculture 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% of the workforce. The […]
Africa’s Trade Crunch and What Trade Catalyst Africa is Doing About It
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 face long waits […]
Stitching Together Success: Reflections from The Africa Sourcing Fashion Week
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 global textile exports (World […]
Why Africa Must Invest in its Digital Trade Infrastructure
East Africa’s smallholder farmers are at the heart of the coffee industry, producing 82% of Africa’s coffee and 10% of the world’s supply—yet they earn less than 5% of its final retail value. A significant part of this is their limited ability to access digital solutions, which connects them to digital value chains, where favourable […]
Construction of Nakonde one stop border facilities kicks-off, tipped to slash cargo clearance times
Zambia Government and partners break ground on the $10.5 million Nakonde border upgrade Nakonde, Zambia, 21 October 2024 – Trade Catalyst Africa (TCA) has hailed the start of the improvement of infrastructure works at the Nakonde One Stop Border Post (OSBP), an important step that will improve customs efficiency and significantly cut down cargo clearance […]