Business

Arusha, Tanzania — May 28, 2025 The East African Business Council (EABC) has urged East African Community (EAC) Partner States to adopt a collective approach when negotiating trade agreements with third parties, warning that separate bilateral deals could weaken the region’s economic integration and distort its Common External Tariff (CET). Speaking...

MOMBASA, Kenya — The East African Community has approved a new masterplan to modernize and harmonize cross-border payment systems, marking a major step toward deeper regional economic integration and the bloc’s goal of adopting a single currency by 2031. The Cross-Border Payment System Masterplan was endorsed on May 9 during the 28th Ordinary Meeting...

NAIROBI, Kenya — Youth and women traders across East Africa are urging governments in the region to remove non-tariff barriers (NTBs) that hinder their participation in agri-food trade, citing high costs, duplicative certification processes, and inconsistent standards as major obstacles. Speaking at the opening of the East Africa Cross-Border Trader Associations Forum on Non-Tariff...

ARUSHA, Tanzania — The East African Community (EAC) on Thursday announced the launch of Phase III of its Regional Network of Reference Laboratories for Communicable Diseases, backed by €12 million in funding from the Federal Republic of Germany through KfW, the German Development Bank. The three-year initiative, scheduled to run from July 2025 to...

MOMBASA, Kenya (May 9, 2025) — The 28th ordinary meeting of the East African Community (EAC) Monetary Affairs Committee (MAC) took place in Mombasa, Kenya, on May 9, 2025. Central bank officials from across the EAC region gathered to discuss the economic outlook, progress on the East African Monetary Union (EAMU) roadmap, and regional financial stability. The...

GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations’ labor agency is urging governments and businesses to strengthen oversight of artificial intelligence and automation technologies in the workplace, warning that while these innovations offer critical safety benefits, they also pose new and unfamiliar risks to workers’ health and well-being. In a new report released this week, the...

WASHINGTON — The World Bank Group on Wednesday launched the next phase of its Private Sector Investment Lab, broadening both its membership and its mission to accelerate job creation in developing countries. Building on 18 months of groundwork identifying investment barriers and piloting financial solutions, the Lab is now pivoting to implementation. New members...

BUJUMBURA, Burundi — The Bank of the Republic of Burundi (BRB) is moving ahead with its ambitious plan to fully digitize the country's financial system by November 2025, officials announced during a stakeholder workshop held this week in Bujumbura. The initiative, spearheaded by BRB’s Payment Systems Management Department, aims to modernize the nation’s payment...

BUJUMBURA, Burundi — Burundi's annual inflation rate rose to 40.9% in March 2025, up from 39.7% the previous month, driven largely by sharp increases in food prices and housing costs, according to new data released by the National Institute of Statistics of Burundi (INSBU). Food prices, which make up a significant portion of household...

Fund warns of macroeconomic instability, calls for unified exchange rate and tighter monetary policy BUJUMBURA, Burundi The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on Burundi to urgently implement fiscal, monetary, and structural reforms to contain surging inflation and stabilise its fragile economy. In a statement released after a March 17–28 visit...