African nations are planning to set up a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) by the end of 2017. This would create a single continental market for goods and services, and free movement of business persons and investments, accelerating the establishment of a continental customs union. Leaders at the African Union Summit agreed to this plan during […]
Trading across borders
Last week, in the post Reforms that make doing business easier, we discussed the Ease of Doing Business rankings. These appear in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report. We focused on a few sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries, and what they did recently to improve their ranks. There are many important that the World Bank takes into […]
Boosting Business in Africa Needs More Visa Openness
Applying for a visa is one of the hassles that makes travel into a country inconvenient. As a Spaniard travelling to Africa, I’ve had diverse experience depending on the country I visit. I don’t need any visa to enter South Africa, and I can get a visa on arrival to enter Kenya. The experience with […]
The African Economic Community
A few weeks ago I had to travel to Switzerland. As I was preparing for the trip, I wondered whether I needed my passport or if my Spanish ID would suffice. Switzerland doesn’t belong to the European Union but I wasn’t sure about this type of administrative arrangement between it and the EU member countries. […]
Trading Times Across East African Borders
My young friend Giovanni came back from a visit to East Africa last week. As part of the trip, he traveled by car from Uganda to Kenya. This involves crossing the Malaba border where trucks can wait anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks. But the driver was an expert at crossing this border, so they only […]
