The East African Community (EAC) Studies How Businesses are Approaching the AfCFTA – Striving For a Borderless EAC

ECA has committed to create a borderless region, with its own currency (although this is proving a tough nut to crack as we retorted last month). In order to assist, EAC has developed the AfCFTA Country Business Index (ACBI) with the financial support of the European Union. The Index enables policymakers to identify bottlenecks in intra-African trade at a country level, and identify those barriers which are impeding effective AfCFTA implementation by engaging the private sector.

Meanwhile, as reported above, I was in Rwanda this month and met with the government body responsible for promoting ecommerce. Rwanda is increasingly gaining international attention for its forward-looking digital policies. These aim at boosting the country’s emerging digital economy through a coordinated “whole-of-government” approach, backed by a national ecommerce strategy recently prepared with the assistance of UNCTAD. Rwanda, one of the most densely populated nations in sub-Saharan Africa, has made great progress towards becoming one of Africa’s most developed countries. With the new strategy, experts are optimistic that Rwanda will better capitalize ecommerce for the benefit of businesses and consumers, as well as optimize the delivery of government services.