Innovation and Digitalisation – working for the Latest New Consumers
The TradeTech Global initiative, a joint venture between the World Economic Forum and the UAE Government, has issued a report, TradeTech: Catalysing Innovation, outlining steps to benefit from technology-enabled upgrades to…
Read MoreUNCTAD Report Shows Global 2023 Drop in FDI
Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to developing countries fell by 9% to $841bn in 2023, according to UNCTAD’s latest Global Investment Trends Monitor. Developing countries in Asia felt the brunt of…
Read MoreGlobal Supply Chain Issues
The attacks on shipping passing down the Red Sea after the Suez Canal have started to have an adverse effect on supply chains and costs to/from Europe. Even the Chinese…
Read MoreBigTech News
The US debate about children and social media just won’t go away. In January, the US Senate held a hearing with the leaders of social media, including Mark Zuckerberg, on the…
Read MoreThe EU’s Proposal to Drop its “de Minimis” Rule Opposed by the EFA
On the other worrying customs duty issue, the EU proposed mid-2023 to drop the rule that allows goods valued at less than Euro150 into the Union duty free – this…
Read MoreThe WTO’s Moratorium on Customs Duties Applied to Electronic Transmissions.
Readers will recall that this issue has long been on EFA’s agenda, starting back in 2020. The Agreement must be renewed every 2 years. In 2019 a UNCTAD researcher published…
Read MoreWorld Trade Organisation Ministers (MC13) To Meet in Abu Dhabi
The WTO’s “MC13” meeting will take place on 26-29 February. It will be a key meeting for the Organisation. Of great importance to ecommerce is the Moratorium (see below), but…
Read MoreStarting the Year with the Wrong Sort of Crash – Some Good News, and the Forecasts of the AfDB for 2024
Dear Readers, we hope the new year started well for you and will continue to bring you success. Unfortunately, 2024 at the EFSA/EFA offices started with the crash of my…
Read MoreOpportunities, Events and Publications
Y Combinator W24 Y Combinator has opened up at least 10 additional spots in the W24 batch for companies that apply now via a special application process – see https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/new-year-new-company FINCA…
Read MoreCrossing African Frontiers – for work or holidays – is Getting Easier
Going through African border controls as an individual is getting easier. The Africa Visa Openness Index 2023 reveals much progress since the 7th edition of the report was published last December.…
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