The East Africa Trade and Investment Hub
Boosting trade and investment with and within East Africa 
Monthly Newsletter
January 2015
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Click on the above image to view a YouTube video of CS Mohamed outlining Kenya's plan to revive its leather industry.
Kenya Aims to Revive Leather Industry
The East Africa Trade and Investment Hub recently met with Kenyan Cabinet Secretary of Industrialization and Enterprise Adan Mohamed to hear more about his strategy for revitalizing Kenya's leather industry and to find areas for collaboration. 

Together with the textile industry, Kenyan Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich estimates that these sectors have the potential to create nearly 800,000 jobs over the next three years.

The Kenya Government has already ear marked $3 million for the initiative, to include the construction of a "leather city," which will provides incentives for investors looking to add value to Kenyan leather products.

 

The Hub will work with the newly formed Leather Development Council, led by the CEO of Bata shoe company. 

Wanda Organic Seeks Support for Kenyan Farmers Through Crowdfunding Campaign
Wanda Organic is a social enterprise that identifies and provides sustainable solutions to the agricultural sector focusing on soil and plant health. In Kenya, and throughout Africa, continuous farming without replenishing soil nutrients
has depleted vast areas of farmland. The result is underdevelopment of the agricultural sector. According to some estimates, 65% of arable land in Africa is degraded; The economic loss associated with land degradation in sub-Saharan Africa is estimated at $68 billion per year. 

Wanda Organic is currently working with farmers in Machakos County, Kenya through a partnership with USAID Kenya's Feed the Future Innovation Engine. The Machakos farmer groups now understand the need for healthier soil, but lack access to organic fertilizers. To address this, Wanda Organic, with the support of InfoDev and the Kenya Climate Innovation Center, is running a 1-month crowdfunding campaign to source $45,000 for two distribution centers in the semi-arid Machakos County . The campaign started January 11 and will continue to February 11. Visit IndieGogo to learn more and join the #WandaRevolution.

The East Africa Trade and Investment Hub supports #agriculture, #agribusiness, #FeedtheFuture, #innovation, and #technology. We wish Wanda Organic luck. 
New York City Trade Show Attracts Interest in Sub-Saharan Africa
In mid-January, the East Africa Trade and Investment Hub traveled to New York City to attend Texworld, North America's largest sourcing event for apparel fabric buyers, research and product development specialist, designers, merchandisers and overseas sourcing professionals. The Hub attends trade shows to help East African exporters build business linkages
with U.S. markets and to promote sub-Saharan Africa as a sourcing destination for U.S. apparel needs. Trade show discussions are often followed by sub-Saharan country visits, or buyer missions. The Hub's approach to changing perceptions about doing business in sub-Saharan Africa is working. Global clothing retailer H&M just announced that it is placing its first orders with garment manufacturers in Ethiopia. The Hub discussed sourcing in sub-Saharan Africa with H&M at its Origin Africa booth back in 2012. 

Over the last five years, the Hub has helped facilitate more than $200 million in AGOA exports. AGOA is the
African Growth and Opportunity Act.
 
Increasing the Competitiveness of Kenya's Horticultural Sector
More than 400 participants, including senior policy makers, exporters, and technical advisers attended a USAID Kenya Horticulture Competitiveness Program strategic conference on January 22, 2015. Conference participants discussed the Kenya Horticulture Competitiveness Program's recent Global Competitiveness Strategy and identified areas where the government, private sector, and donor communities can help the Kenya horticulture industry increase its competitiveness and sustainability. Action items include, improving farm-level competitiveness, branding Kenya as a premium quality exporter, improving infrastructure, streamlining regulatory requirements, and enhancing food safety requirements, among others.
A few of the many horticultural products that Kenya exports.


The East Africa Trade and Investment Hub is working with the East African public and private sector to streamline regulatory requirements and enhance food safety requirements through phytosanitary regulation. The Hub  is also working to develop export markets for cut flowers. This includes the U.S. market via AGOA, where a lack of direct flights from Kenya, the largest exporter of cut flowers, to the U.S. has hindered expanded trade. Working with key regional and national institutions, the Hub will continue to support the efforts of Kenya, Ethiopia and other countries in the region to increase their exports of cut flowers, both to the U.S. and other international markets.

Click on the below infographic for a quick overview of the Kenya horticulture industry.

In This Issue
Kenya Aims to Revive Leather Industry
Wanda Organic Seeks Support for Kenyan Farmers Through Crowdfunding Campaign
New York City Trade Show Attracts Interest in Sub-Saharan Africa
Increasing the Competitiveness of Kenya's Horticultural Sector
DAI is Hiring!
Collaborating to Advance East African Regional Trade in Staple Foods
The East Africa Trade and Investment Hub supports two U.S. presidential initiatives
A partnership between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa to increase internal and regional trade within Africa, and expand trade and economic ties among Africa, the United States, and other global markets.
Feed the Future strives to increase agricultural production and the incomes of both men and women in rural areas who rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. Investments in inclusive agriculture-led growth encompass improving agricultural productivity, expanding markets and trade, and increasing the economic resilience of vulnerable rural communities.
DAI is Hiring!
Are you interested in East African Community integration and competitiveness? So are we. Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI), an international development company that manages the East Africa Trade and Investment Hub, is currently accepting applications for East Africa Trade and Investment Hub Country Representatives. We have positions available in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi.

Interested applicants should send their CV and a cover letter via email [email protected] by February 10, 2015.

Read the complete scope of work HERE
Collaborating to Advance East African Regional Trade in Staple Foods
The East Africa Trade and Investment Hub joins regional stakeholders in food security at a Saturday morning breakfast meeting in Nairobi.

The East Africa Trade and Investment Hub is collaborating with East African food security stakeholders to facilitate the expansion of regional trade in staple foods. The stakeholder group, led by DFID's Food Trade East and Southern Africa, recently held a two-day series of meetings to discuss regional constraints to staple food trade and possible solutions. Participants included financial institutions, private sector players, and donor representatives with their project implementers.      

 

The Hub works in several areas that could provide solutions to regional constraints, namely structured trading systems such as a warehouse receipt system, market and trade information, access to finance, and regulatory reform. Next week, the Hub will travel to Tanzania to further discussion on several of these topics.


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