Since 2010 trade flows across East Africa have been increasing substantially, as it stands African countries carry out about 23 percent of their trade with one another, a percentage higher than the 15 percent estimate by the World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB). Indeed from 2004-2014 Intra-EAC trade grew from $2.6 billion to $8.6 … More Intra-EAC Trading On The Up Thanks To One Stop Border Posts

Devex’s Molly Anders continues the discussion on the changing landscape of UK aid strategy. Operations are shifting at the U.K. Department for International Development in the wake of the new aid strategy, released in late 2015. Following closely on its heels, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact is revamping the way it monitors DfID, paying special attention to past shortcomings … More First shifts after new UK aid strategy? Sharper scrutiny

Molly Anders at DEVEX has published poignant and insightful piece on whether or not it is time to redefine ODA? This will certainly be an evolving discussion over the next few weeks: Next week the Development Assistance Committee within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development — the body responsible for defining and tracking official development assistance … More Hot Topic: Is it time to redefine ODA?

Lisa Karanja, Senior Director at TradeMark East Africa A key point to have come out of the World Trade Organisation’s 10th ministerial meeting – WTO MC10 – that took place in Nairobi this week was the role that East African women can play in alleviating poverty across the region.   World Bank research suggests that women … More TMEA Driving Economic Empowerment Of Women Across East Africa

To achieve ambitious global development goals, employment must be harnessed, imbalances based on gender and skills must be addressed, and greater emphasis must be placed on employment-led growth, according to a UN report. “Work is the defining issue of our time … the world of work is changing very fast because of globalisation and the digital revolution, … More Make it work: jobs hold key to achieving development goals, says UN report

The Jane Goodall Institute’s Gombe Masito-Ugalla program (GMU), paves the way for Tanzanian business owners and entrepreneurs to improve their livelihoods. The GMU program provides education on ways to improve the production process of farmers, whether they grow crops, care for livestock, embrace agroforestry or manage beehives. One particular program which the GMU program is … More Wildlife and Trade Working Together to Provide Sustainable Livelihoods

Bold new ideas for helping Syrian refugees and their overburdened Middle Eastern host countries are gaining traction among international donors, shocked into action by this year’s migration of hundreds of thousands of desperate Syrians to Europe. Rather than struggling to gather humanitarian aid for refugees, the plans center around investing billions of dollars, much of it … More New ideas to tackle Syria refugee crisis: Investing, not aid

Rwanda’s Export Boosting Efforts 21 years following a genocide, which devastated the tiny East African country, Rwanda has transformed itself into a beacon of economic development that many hold as a model for Africa. Rwanda enjoyed an average GDP growth rate of 7.73% between 2000 and 2015 and those living under poverty fell by 6% … More Rwanda: Aid for Trade’s Golden Child

Last week, a group of prominent Australians published an open letter calling for world leaders to restrict the opening of new coal mines. The letter comes ahead of December’s upcoming climate conference in Paris, COP 21, where almost every country on the planet will gather in an attempt to draw up a universal climate change … More Environment vs development: an inevitable trade-off? What’s on the cards for COP21