INTERNATIONAL

UN to boost health tech production for COVID-19 – The United Nations Technology Bank, together with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Health Organization (WHO), launched the Tech Access Partnership (TAP) on 13 May as part of a coordinated approach to strengthen developing countries’ responses to COVID-19 and increase access to lifesaving health technologies. As demand for personal protective equipment, medical devices and diagnostics increases exponentially amid the global pandemic, countries with limited resources are often unable to purchase or produce the tools they need to mount effective responses to COVID-19.  Lack of access to technical expertise, training and regulatory frameworks also limit local production of essential equipment in these regions, particularly for more complex products like ventilators.

TAP aims to address critical shortages of essential health technologies and equipment by connecting manufacturers with critical expertise and emerging manufacturers in developing countries to share the information, technical expertise and resources necessary to scale up production of these tools. The Partnership will also support countries to develop affordable technologies and equipment that meet quality and safety standards.

“Now, more than ever, the global community needs to unite to save lives and secure sustainable futures.  Inequalities are exacerbating the technology and digital divide when it comes to opportunities for youth, creating a divide that threatens to leave them behind,” says Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN. “Increasing access to necessary technologies through partnerships, is a crucial component of the United Nations’ COVID-19 health, humanitarian and socio-economic response.”

TAP will be led by the UN Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries, established in 2016 to assist governments with the development and adaptation of new technologies. The initiative, which is open to all developing countries, will also be supported by its core partners, UNDP, UNCTAD and WHO.“Without access to lifesaving technologies, many developing countries are unprepared for the potentially devastating impact of COVID-19,” says Joshua Setipa, Managing Director, UN Technology Bank. “By enabling developing countries to produce these technologies themselves, we can help set them on the path to recovery.” (UNCTAD)

Key Words: COVID-19, UNCTAD, TAP

Mineral Production to Soar as Demand for Clean Energy Increases – A new World Bank Group report finds that the production of minerals, such as graphite, lithium and cobalt, could increase by nearly 500% by 2050, to meet the growing demand for clean energy technologies. It estimates that over 3 billion tons of minerals and metals will be needed to deploy wind, solar and geothermal power, as well as energy storage, required for achieving a below 2°C future.

The report “Minerals for Climate Action: The Mineral Intensity of the Clean Energy Transition” also finds that even though clean energy technologies will require more minerals, the carbon footprint of their production—from extraction to end use—will account for only 6% of the greenhouse gas emissions generated by fossil fuel technologies. The report underscores the important role that recycling and reuse of minerals will play in meeting increasing mineral demand. It also notes that even if we scale up recycling rates for minerals like copper and aluminum by 100%, recycling and reuse would still not be enough to meet the demand for renewable energy technologies and energy storage.

In the current global context, COVID-19 is causing major disruptions to the mining industry across the world. In addition, developing countries that rely on minerals are missing out on essential fiscal revenues and, as their economies start to reopen, they will need to strengthen their commitment to climate-smart mining principles and mitigate any negative impacts. “COVID-19 could represent an additional risk to sustainable mining, making the commitment of governments and companies to climate-smart practices more important than ever before,” said Riccardo Puliti, World Bank Global Director for Energy and Extractive Industries and Regional Director for Infrastructure in Africa. “This new report builds on the World Bank’s long-standing expertise in supporting the clean energy transition and provides a data-driven tool for understanding how this shift will impact future mineral demand.”   (World Bank)

Key Words: COVID-19, Mineral Industry, Business

PAN AFRICA

Informal traders: a balancing act of survival – Africa’s informal cross-border traders have been hit hard by Covid-19. David Luke, Gerald Masila and Lily Sommer call for five urgent interventions to prevent irreversible damage to this vulnerable community. We are now two months into Africa’s Covid-19 combat, and now is the time to reflect. Africa has managed to somewhat contain the virus, save lives and avoid a massive blow to its health systems. But it has become clear that, for now, Covid-19 is here to stay. The question then is: how can governments strike the right balance between curbing the long-term spread of the virus and supporting the short-term realities of survival?

Five priority interventions are needed to “optimise” the Covid-19 impact on informal cross-border traders.

• First, partial reopening of informal cross-border trade must be executed in a manner that avoids reverting to the status quo of overcrowded borders. One way to reduce density could be by alternating the days traders can cross the border. Alternatively, Mondays and Fridays could be for trading vegetables and fruit, Tuesdays and Thursdays for fish, meat and dairy, and Wednesdays and Saturdays for sanitary and medical products.
• Second, cross-border trade must take place in a safe environment. This requires daily sanitisation of border crossings and facilities, handwashing stations, protective wear for border authorities, and medical and quarantine officers at borders. Much can be learned from TradeMark East Africa’s “Safe Trade Emergency Facility” which targets containing Covid-19, whilst simultaneously enabling trade. The Ugandan government disinfects all trucks entering the country and has designated places where transiting cargo drivers must stay. Simple visual step-by-step guides can help enhance understanding of Covid-19 border regulations and how to conduct safe trade.
• Third, digital solutions can contain the spread of Covid-19 along trade corridors. For instance, all truck drivers entering Uganda must present themselves for testing before clearance. An electronic cargo tracking system traces the movement of drivers, so that when results come in, those who test positive are immediately intercepted and quarantined. Many informal traders now have smart phones with built-in GPS, which can be similarly used to trace positive Covid-19 cases. Mobile payment systems can facilitate reductions in risky cash-based payments. In fact, the Kenyan government has issued guidelines to discourage the use of cash. Mobile companies are promoting this shift by reducing fees, and eliminating fees for small amounts below Ksh 1000 ($10).
• Fourth, authorities should facilitate aggregation of small-scale traders’ goods. Well-governed cross-border trade associations, or regional agencies involved in facilitating cross-border trade such as EAGC, FEWS-NET, WFP and CILSS, can assist with coordination, certification, clearance, payment and transport. Even better, governments could consider subsidising transport costs as a form of relief. Expanding warehouse facilities at borders would help informal traders scale their own cross-border trade. This could reduce the number of cross-border trips per trader, and hence congestion at borders, and make transport costs more affordable.
• Fifth, it is critical to extend relief to informal traders. These traders are typically excluded from traditional safety nets due to their unregistered status. In recent years, East Africa has proved that transferring cash to those most in need is possible with the use of mobile money and SIM card identification systems. We can learn a lot from these efforts. In the absence of technology, cross-border trade associations can assist in securely distributing cash or food transfers to their members.

The above responses must happen as soon as possible. There is no time to wait to see how Covid-19 unfolds. Informal cross-border traders are amongst the most vulnerable in Africa. Delaying action risks detrimental and irreversible damage to these communities, perhaps much larger than the risk of Covid-19 itself. (African Business Magazine)

Key Words: Africa, Informal Trader, COVID-19

Policy Brief: Covid-19 and Export Restrictions: The Limits of International Trade Law and Lessons for the AfCFTA –  In a global economic model in which Africa exports predominantly primary commodities and imports mainly finished products, the crisis has left Africa facing a double whammy: (i) the economic lockdown in much of the world has sent the price of commodities to record lows, thereby causing significant and dramatic declines in much-needed foreign exchange revenues for most resource-dependent African countries; and (ii) when advanced countries with production and supply capacity impose restrictions on the export of essential medical supplies, the inevitable outcome has been a sudden drop in supplies, a jump in prices, and an equally dramatic escalation in import bills for African countries at a time when their already meagre resources are overstretched.

Considering the structural nature of the challenge, there is little that can be done in the short term. As a consequence, much of Africa is once again forced to rely heavily on the charity of others. This is unsustainable. Four major lessons emerge from the analysis.

• Industrialisation: first comes the industrialisation imperative. If the economic case for industrialisation and related diversification in Africa has been compelling for too long, Covid-19 now makes it a matter of survival for the Continent and its citizens.
• Research and Development: then comes the need for an infrastructure of knowledge made up of skilled manpower to maintain a degree of research and development capacity. Africa can succeed in its industrialisation and diversification drive only if it is underpinned by robust R&D strategy and knowledge base.
• Effective multilateralism: not only does industrialisation take time, even an industrialised Africa with a diversified economic base will need to put trade with the rest of the world at the centre of its strategy for supply security in all sectors, enabling African manufacturers to be part of well-functioning regional and global value chains. As such, Africa needs to continue to advocate for effective multilateralism in trade that ensures the rules of the game are tightened and applied by its members in good faith, in the collective interest, and with a sense of solidarity.
• Revisiting the AfCFTA Agreement:  finally, learning from the deficiencies of the global trading system exposed by Covid-19, and considering that Covid-19 struck while Africa was preparing to launch the operational phase of the AfCFTA, Africa should use this window of opportunity to revisit the provisions of the AfCFTA Agreement and craft additional rules to guarantee the freest possible flow of trade in essential products at times of difficulty such as this.

Commenting on the Policy Brief, David Luke, Coordinator of ECA's African Trade policy Centre, said: it is clear that trade law cannot guarantee open markets in times of crisis such as the current global pandemic. There is scope for the AfCFTA Secretariat and the Committees on Trade in Goods and Trade in Services, when up and running, to revisit this issue and find creative solutions. (UNECA)

Key Words: COVID-19, AfCFTA, Trade Law

Making B2B E-Commerce Work for Africa – Expectations are running high in Africa that e-commerce can accelerate economic growth, offer opportunities to firms small and large, and promote greater integration between markets.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, e-commerce in Africa was estimated to reach $27 billion in 2020 (Statista / Boston Consulting Group) and generate about 3 million jobs. Today, Africa represents less than 0.5% of global e-commerce (based on UNCTAD estimates). In global terms, business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce is up to five times the size of online consumer retail. There is good reason to believe that suitable B2B platforms could be particularly adapted to Africa.

ITC ecomConnect has worked with Ecommerce Forum Africa to study B2B e-commerce and how it may support the development ambitions of the continent and those of small enterprises. In a set of case studies, available on ITC’s e-commerce online community ecomConnect, we describe the experience of a selection of firms from across Africa.

• Dropstore, based on the drop-shipping model, is a South African online marketplace, which makes it easy for clients to find products from suppliers.
• Twiga Foods in Kenya uses an online platform to link food producers with retailers.
• Wuzzuf, an Egyptian recruitment portal.
• Jumia’s JForce, a program run by Jumia Kenya that allows individuals to earn commission by assisting customers to place orders on Jumia online shop.
• Sokowatch, a stock provider for informal traders in four East African markets.
• Yaoota, a search engine for Egyptian online buyers.
• Superlatte, a small health drink producer from South Africa.
• Bruhm, a manufacturer and marketer of electrical goods from Kenya.
• Miele Mailer, biodegradable packaging for e-commerce businesses.

You can already read an introductory article to the case studies where we analyze the status of B2B e-commerce in Africa and look at opportunities for innovation in this sector.(ITC)

Key Words: Africa, E-Commerce, ITC

Africa Programme/Webinar: The Future of African Development: Levers of Support Through the Coronavirus Pandemic – Speaker: Abebe Aemro Selassie, Director, African Department, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Chair: Elizabeth Donnelly, Deputy Director, Africa Programme, Chatham House.

Described as an unprecedented threat to development, the COVID-19 pandemic will cause significant damage to African economies. The IMF has forecast a contraction in GDP growth of 1.6 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa in 2020 – its lowest on record – followed by a projected recovery of 4.1 per cent growth in 2021. However, major uncertainties remain. As containment and suppression measures are lifted and economies begin to reopen, added public health risks and pressures to already strained fiscal and healthcare response capacities will increase the imperative for well-designed and efficiently delivered support mechanisms from development partners. Temporary debt relief has featured prominently, but wider coordinated multilateral responses are also critical.

At this event, Abebe Aemro Selassie, Director of the African Department at the International Monetary Fund, will discuss the levers available to support African countries as they navigate the crisis, expectations of African governments and development partners, and prospects ahead.
The event will also be livestreamed on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CHAfricaProg/live on May 20, 2020 at 02:30 PM in London. (Chatham House)

Key Words: Africa, COVID-19, Development

Sub-Saharan Africa: COVID-19 A Threat to Development – Sub-Saharan Africa is facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis that threatens to reverse much of the development progress it's made in recent years. The latest Regional Economic Outlook shows the economy will contract by 1.6 percent this year; the worst reading on record. Papa N'Diaye is Head of Research in the IMF’s African Department that publishes the outlook. In this podcast, N'Diaye says by the end of 2020, the region will face income losses of about $200 billion relative to what they were expecting 6 months ago. Papa N’Diaye, Heads the Regional Studies Division in the IMF’s African Department. (IMF)

Key Words: COVID-19, Africa, Development

NORTH AFRICA

Morocco’s exports of fruits & veggies cross one-million ton threshold–  Despite the current global difficult situation triggered by covid-19 pandemic, Morocco’s exports of fruits & vegetables crossed this season the million-ton threshold, increasing by 6 pc to 1,077,000 ton. According to Moroccan ministry of agriculture, this shows the good performance and resilience of the local agribusiness which continues to expand and diversify its high quality and competitive output. The export of Moroccan tomatoes went up by 4 pc to 514,000 tons this farming season. The sales of Moroccan red fruits to overseas market also rose by 25 pc to 82,500 tons. The same upward trend has been seen in the export of watermelon which soared by 61 pc to 104,400 tons, while that of avocado almost tripled to 32,800 tons.

However, exports of citrus fruits fell by 28 pc due to the drop in production. The exports of processed of Moroccan agricultural products increased by 17 pc this season reaching 299, 000 tons against 255,800 tons recorded same period last year. Morocco’s agricultural sector contributes 19 pc to the national GDP and employs over 4 million people including about 100,000 in agro-industry. It plays a key role in macroeconomic balances of the country and earns a living to 80 pc of the 14 million rural people, although it has suffered from low investment and low productivity. (The North Africa Post)

Key Words: Morocco, COVID-19, Export Sector

EAST AFRICA

Rwanda Ranked Best Prepared for Trading Bloc – With the July date for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) now highly uncertain, a survey on individual country preparedness shows that commitment and readiness is below 50 per cent. According to The AfCFTA Year Zero report published this month by AfroChampions, the average level of commitment is 44.48 per cent and implementation readiness is 49.15 per cent. Afrochampions was commissioned by the AfCFTA secretariat to do the assessment early this year and was completed before the Covid-19 struck. Almost all countries are lagging behind in the completion of National AfCFTA Implementation Strategies Trading, which was scheduled to start this July.

The report also ranks East and West African countries as most committed in the operationalisation of the AfCFTA, with Rwanda ranked the most committed at 83.93 per cent, and Eritrea the least, scoring 0.85 per cent. Other East African countries ranked in the top 10 are Uganda (fourth), Kenya (seventh) and Djibouti (ninth). The other five slots are taken by the West African countries of Mali (second), Togo (third), Ghana (fifth), Niger (sixth) and Senegal (eighth). Fifty-five African countries (including those that are yet to ratify the agreement) were rated and ranked based on four main indicators and 10 sub-indicators.

The indicators used were county's commitment to AfCFTA, which include signing and ratification of the agreement and a publicly accessible national implementation strategy; signing and ratification of the protocol on free movement of people and the country's visa openness; trade facilitation readiness considering quality of trade-infrastructure and efficiency of Customs; and the country's capability in the access to credit. More than half the countries are yet to ratify the AfCFTA, despite the impressive signings and speedy number of ratifications that launched the agreement. (The East African)

Key Words: Rwanda, Regional Integration, AfCFTA

RwandAir Secures Deal to Transport Fish From Tanzania to Europe - The national carrier RwandAir announced on Tuesday, May 12 that it had secured a deal with Tanzania that will see the airline transport cargo from Mwanza airport to Brussels, Belgium. "Today we inaugurated our cargo flight from Mwanza to Brussels which will be transporting fish to Europe," the airline said in a tweet. This is a deal that first emerged last year when news circulated that Tanzanian and Rwandan officials were in talks to enable RwandAir to ferry fish from northern Tanzania to overseas markets, especially Europe.

Yvonne Makolo, the carrier's chief executive officer confirmed that they "have been in talks for a while" and that the arrangement will enable the airline to finally help Tanzania take their cargo to European markets. "Since we are flying to Europe, we are combining cargo from here (Rwanda) and Mwanza," she said in an interview. Makolo said they are particularly ferrying fresh produce from Kigali and fish from Mwanza. The deal was reportedly expected to provide relief for Lake Zone fish traders, who have, for a long time, been seeking an alternative airline to transport their products abroad. Wholesale fish traders have been relying on Entebbe and Nairobi airports, which they say is costly. RwandAir has been operating cargo flights, a model it adopted after countries imposed travel bans due to the coronavirus pandemic, which saw many airlines across the world ground their planes. The national carrier currently operates cargo flights to Brussels, London and Guangzhou in China.  (The New Times)

Key Words: COVID—19, Rwanda, Business

WEST AFRICA

Coronavirus: Delay of AfCFTA is more bad news for Nigeria– The doom and gloom of the global economy has seeped into all layers, including the once shining sparkle across the continent: AfCFTA. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which was supposed to be implemented on 1 July, has now been postponed. The 55-nation continental free-trade zone is expected to create a $3.4tn economic bloc with 1.3 billion people across Africa and constitute the largest new trading bloc in the world. While Wamkele Mene, the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area, told Reuters that he was confident the deal would go through, “it is obviously not possible to commence trade as we had intended on 1 July under the current circumstances,” he said speaking about the coronavirus.

For Nigeria, which is having problems funding its budget and is facing a grim future, this new development is cause for concern. Due to the coronavirus, the IMF is predicting the economy of Nigeria will shrink by 3.4% this year. Harry Broadman, the Managing Director and Chair of Berkeley Research Group’s (BRG) Emerging Markets practice and former United States Assistant Trade Representative as lead negotiator for the establishment of both the World Trade Organization and NAFTA, believes “Africa is an anomaly as the continent trades more comfortably with the outside world than with itself. The AfCTFA presents an opportunity to better connect the continent and improve trade inside.”

Local supply chains in Nigeria, especially in the agricultural sector, have been hit badly. A longer lockdown is sure to increase food insecurity. As the world waits for the pandemic to pass, there are bigger questions about the lasting effects of the virus on global and local economies. Experts assume that as trade will restart, the gaps between the global north and south will be more evident than it already is. While Nigeria’s nearly 200 million population makes the country a big market for trade, it is perhaps not the best one in Africa. The US is looking to ink a new free trade deal with Kenya among others highlights the fall in Nigeria’s stock globally.  (The Africa Report)

Key Words: West Africa, AfCFTA, Regional Integration

SOUTHERN AFRICA

Namibia Undertakes to Facilitate Regional Trade - Namibia will continue to keep its ports and harbours open to facilitate the free movement of commercial goods to its landlocked neighbours and beyond, President Hage Geingob said on Friday. Geingob said this during a teleconference meeting convened by South African president and African Union (AU) chairperson Cyril Ramaphosa that brought together heads of states from Angola, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. "Covid-19 is a global pandemic and requires coordinated regional, Pan-African and global action. During this difficult period, Namibia recognises how interdependent and how interconnected we are as neighbours," Geingob informed his fellow leaders. To illustrate the point, he said a Namibian parliamentarian with family residing in South Africa had a bereavement and government-to-government coordination permitted her to attend the funeral in South Africa.

"We share northern and north-eastern borders with Angola, Zambia and Botswana, and we have to educate our people who are in some instances not aware that they have crossed borders," he said. "Namibia will continue to keep ports and harbours open in order to facilitate the movement of goods to landlocked neighbours and beyond," he added. Geingob said he is grateful for this virtual meeting of neighbouring countries and thanked his counterparts for the importance they attach to collective action to deal with the shared challenge of Covid-19. Briefing fellow heads of states on Covid-19 in the country, Geingob said the first two cases of Covid-19 in Namibia were confirmed on 13 March 2020.

"We acted swiftly the next morning on 14 March to suspend outward and inbound flights to and from Doha, Qatar, Frankfurt, Germany and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. On 17 March, we declared a state of emergency to contain the spread of Covid-19," Geingob said. He said since 28 March 2020, the country had a stage 1 national lockdown, which commenced with the affected regions, Erongo and Khomas, including the contingent local authority areas of Okahandja and Rehoboth. The lockdown, he said, was extended countrywide from 18 April to 4 May 2020. "We rolled out a stimulus package at around 13% of our budget to assuage the loss of income for businesses and the most vulnerable sectors of the population, who received an Emergency Income Grant (EIG)," Geingob said. (New Era)

Key Words: Namibia, Regional Trade, AU

Mauritius: COVID-19 Legislative Framework - PM Meets With Representatives of Trade Unions - A meeting between the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, and the Covid-19: Konversasyon Solider Collective, a movement that regroups several union confederations, was held early this evening at the New Treasury Building, in Port Louis.

Discussions focused on two Bills namely, the COVID-19 (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill and the Quarantine Bill, which were introduced today in the National Assembly by the Prime Minister. Representatives of the Covid-19: Konversasyon Solider Collective also presented, to that end, a letter to Prime Minister Jugnauth expressing the concerns of workers with regard to the new legislative framework proposed.

The Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Dr Renganaden Padayachy, the Attorney General and Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Mr Maneesh Gobin, and the Minister of Labour, Human Resource Development and Training Mr. Soodesh Satkam Callichurn, were also present at the meeting. (Government of Mauritius)

Key Words: Mauritius, Trade, COVID-19

Automotive Export Manual 2020 – South Africa Publication - In the current disruptive era of change, it is essential for key players, investors, and stakeholders in the global automotive ecosystem to understand the market dynamics, leverage the available opportunities, and up their game. The business community, both inside and outside South Africa, needs information on the various aspects affecting investment and business ventures in the country in order to maximise the value of every decision or transaction. Market intelligence therefore provides companies with a competitive edge to stay up to date with relevant market trends and enables them to make informed decisions in the ever-changing global automotive landscape.

The Automotive Export Manual – 2020 – South Africa publication is an annual publication produced and compiled by the Automotive Industry Export Council (AIEC) – the recognised source of South African automotive trade data. The 2020 publication, just as the previous annual publications since 2007, provides a comprehensive guide on the export and import performance of the South African automotive industry under the current Automotive Production Development Programme (APDP). The aim of the manual is to identify and report on the major automotive export destinations, the major countries of origin, the main automotive export trade blocs, the most important automotive products being exported and imported, the top growth markets and products, as well as the impact of the trade arrangements enjoyed by South Africa on automotive trade patterns.

This publication serves as an essential source for stakeholders, both in South Africa and internationally, to leverage a wealth of market intelligence related to decision-making opportunities in the South African automotive industry.  (AIEC)

Key Words: South Africa, Automotive Industry, Businesses