Tag Archives: Markets

Towards a True US-Africa Partnership

Posted on by

“If the Obama administration wishes to truly make a difference, it must do so as an equal partner.”

In a bold and compelling op-ed last week, President Kagame of Rwanda, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, President Seretse Khama Ian Khama of Botswana, and President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal argued that the US needs to approach Africa as a partner, not a benefactor.  I commend this piece and hope the Obama administration will take a close look at the approach it is taking to working with Africa.  Continue reading →

Buy Local in Africa

Posted on by

By Meg Dallett

According to a recent GAO report on US food aid, Congressional restrictions on that aid make it much more costly and time-consuming to get the food to the people who need it.  Currently, the government buys most of the food from heavily-subsidized US farmers and then transports it to the developing world to distribute it-it’s not hard to see that this is pretty inefficient.  Not only do our subsidies distort the global market for major crops by keeping prices low enough that African farmers struggle to make a living, we then put many of the remaining farmers out of business by giving our excess crops to their neighbors, the only potential customers they have.  Furthermore, the GAO’s results now show that in addition to all this, we’re getting less food aid for our money and it takes longer to get to the developing world.  Instead, we ought to be buying food aid directly from those farmers in Africa. Continue reading →

Manual Distribution Centers: Market Access and Job Creation

Posted on by

As a strategy for development, “manual distribution centers” are becoming as popular in development sectors as micro-finance was in 2005.  A concept pioneered by Coca-Cola, MDCs are independently owned, low-cost operations created to service retail markets where classic distribution models are ineffective and inefficient because of distance or lack of infrastructure.  For example, Coca-Cola hires local distributors in Africa to ship their beverages out to less accessible areas, creating jobs and increasing the markets they can reach.  In addition to giving people in hard-to-reach parts of the world access to more products, the MDC system integrates local businesspeople into global supply chains, which is a crucial part of turning the opportunities of trade into broad-based prosperity.  Continue reading →

Not On My Watch

Posted on by

Published at allafrica.com – Trade Talk with Rosa Whitaker
by Rosa Whitaker

As the Obama Administration develops its Africa and trade policies, it is critical that it resists pressure from some development advocates and members of Congress to support legislation that extends the duty-free access to the US market enjoyed by African nations under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to all Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Continue reading →

Uganda Update Spring 2009

Posted on by

uganda-update-spring-2009In this issue:

  • Uganda set to be among Africa’s strongest economies in 2009
  • Uganda secures African Development Bank funding to improve local markets
  • MTN Uganda launches mobile money transfer service
  • Computer education initiative wins Intel award
  • Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa launches African Seed Investment Fund
  • GroFin to invest $20 million to support small businesses
  • Uganda poised to become business outsourcing hub Continue reading →

President Obama’s Emerging Africa Policy

Posted on by

Published at allAfrica.com – Trade Talk with Rosa Whitaker

by Rosa Whitaker

Slowly but surely, President Obama’s Africa policy is beginning to take shape.  In my twenty-five years of work on African economic issues, I’ve seen consecutive US Administrations become increasingly more committed to Africa’s development. I don’t believe President Obama will be an exception.  The fact that his overall foreign policy is driven by experienced-hands with Africa expertise gives reason to believe that Africa will be well-integrated and supported within the broader US foreign and economic policy construct.  Continue reading →

Why Africa Needs Market Access

Posted on by

by Paul Fakes

The World Trade Organization recently released its 2008 International Trade Statistics.  At a glance, you can see not only that Africa remains isolated from global trade (Africa represents only 3% of trade worldwide), but that the continent is still making little progress in expanding regional trade.  While regional economic communities are implementing substantive measures to reduce barriers to intra-African trade, it will be some time before regional free trade agreements are fully implemented, not to mention the continuing need for substantial infrastructure investment to reduce the costs of regional trade.  Continue reading →

Africa: The Unsung Piece of Jack Kemp’s Legacy

Posted on by

by Rosa Whitaker

Congressman Jack Kemp will be remembered for many things, but for me, Jack Kemp will always personify a particular vision of an Africa enjoying the prosperity that only integration can deliver, a full and active partner in the global community.

I was privileged to work with Congressman Kemp to make that vision a reality-first in the late 1990s, when he was one of the main advocates working with me in a bipartisan effort to pass the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and more recently as co-chair with me of the AGOA Action Committee advocating for enhancements to the legislation.  Continue reading →

Intellectual Property Rights For Africa

Posted on by

In Africa, ingenuity abounds. But the intellectual property rights designed to protect that ingenuity often don’t. Less than one percent of patent applications globally are from Africa.

If Africa is a well-spring of innovation, why doesn’t it protect its inventions? The answer is complex, and largely the result of a number of factors: under funded research institutions, cultural practices, lack of legal services and clogged governmental IP structures. Continue reading →

Markets: the Missing Link

Posted on by

The World Bank’s recent study, “Moving out of Poverty: Successes from the Bottom Up,” concludes that development interventions should be market-focused and outlines several key steps that are instrumental in helping people move out of poverty.  The study, which was conducted in a number of African countries, says that in order for people to move out of poverty, they should be surrounded by improved infrastructure, their livelihood activities should be linked to markets, and they need greater access to business loans and information and education on how to connect to mainstream markets. Continue reading →

AGOA’s Next Chapter

Posted on by

The US International Trade Commission just released the 2008 numbers for US-Africa trade under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and I’m pleased to report that AGOA exports from sub-Saharan Africa are up 30 percent from 2007 to $66.3 billion.  Non-oil exports increased 51 percent, largely due to South Africa’s rising position as a transportation equipment manufacturer. Continue reading →

Bottom of the Pyramid Builds the Bottom Line

Posted on by

Bottom of the pyramid strategies (BOP), where companies reach huge markets by selling inexpensive products designed for living conditions in developing countries, are helping companies like Coca Cola and Standard Chartered Bank better weather the global recession.  And true to the BOP model, success in emerging markets is transforming into innovation in developed markets as consumers face constrained cash flows and demand more value per unit purchased.  Continue reading →

Good vs. Bad Middlemen

Posted on by

People always ask me what I think is the key to economic development in Africa. Usually I focus on two challenges: getting capital in the hands of African entrepreneursand building infrastructure to reduce the cost of doing business on the continent. Lately, I have added a third: the lack of middlemen in the right sectors and the proliferation of them in the wrong sectors of African business. Continue reading →

A Green Revolution Takes More Than Seeds

Posted on by

African Ministers of Agriculture recently convened in Windhoek, Namibia at the “African Agriculture in the 21st Century: Meeting the Challenges, Making a Sustainable Green Revolution” meeting.  The Ministers produced a declaration outlining their agricultural development priorities, which will be presented at the UN Commission on Sustainable Development in New York in early May.  One of the key points of the Declaration is that a green revolution in Africa does not depend only on improved seeds and fertilizer, but must be built on a range of investments in development. Continue reading →

Uganda Update Fall 2008

Posted on by

uganda-update-fall-2008-thumbAfrica moved one step closer to full economic integration in October when representatives from three regional trade blocs, including six Heads of State, agreed at a summit hosted by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in Kampala, to form a new cross-regional free trade bloc and customs union. The new bloc, to be comprised of the 26 member nations of the Common Market of Southern and Eastern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), will create the largest free trade area on the African continent with a market of over 527 million people and a combined GDP of $624 billion.

Continue reading →