….as Retreat of Sectoral Council on Finance and Economic Affairs concluded in Mombasa, Kenya
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 17th November, 2021: The East African Community Sectoral Council on Finance and Economic Affairs (SCFEA) has agreed on a Hybrid Model of financing the EAC budget.
A two-day retreat of the SCFEA held in Mombasa, Kenya from 15th to 16th November, 2021 further recommended to the EAC Council of Ministers, the policy making Organ of the Community, to approve the model as the new financing mechanism for the EAC.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 16th November, 2021: The East African Community is making strides in conforming to trading requirements under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), with plans underway to finalize the EAC Tariff Offer.
The EAC Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (SCTIFI) has directed the EAC Secretariat to convene meetings with experts, by 15th December 2021, to finalize the EAC Tariff Offer.
The EAC Tariff Offer currently stands at 85.86% against the AfCFTA modalities of 90%.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 12th November, 2021: East African Community Partner States have been called upon to expedite the comprehensive review of the EAC Common External Tariff (CET) in order to promote trade and industrialization in the region.
Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Trade and Industrialization, Ms. Betty Maina, said that the failure to conclude the review of the CET, which started in 2016, was providing leeway to products from other parts of the world to flood the EAC Common Market at the region’s expense.
Ms. Maina said that conclusion of the EAC CET would enable the region to trade more with itself in addition to promoting the growth of domestic industries in East Africa.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 11th November, 2021: The East African Community (EAC) Secretary General, Hon. Dr. Peter Mathuki, has hailed the role being played by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in armed conflict situations in Eastern Africa.
Dr. Mathuki said that EAC would scale up its cooperation with ICRC to mitigate or reduce the impact of armed conflict situations in the region.
Dr. Mathuki observed that the security environment around the EAC was not very stable given that there were armed conflicts underway in Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Somalia, adding that there was need to safeguard peace within the EAC to spur economic growth and prosperity while trying to restore stability in neighbouring countries.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 10th November, 2021: The East African Community has convened a two-day workshop with the objective of validating a draft study report on investment incentives for antibiotic production in the region.
Speaking during the opening of the meeting, the EAC Director of Productive Sectors, Mr. Jean Baptiste Havugimana, said that the pharmaceutical sector was one of the priority areas for the EAC according to the EAC Industrialization Policy.
Nairobi, Kenya, 9th November, 2021: 2nd Eastern Africa Bioeconomy Conference to be held on 10th and 11th November, 2021 is organised by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe)/BioInnovate Africa in partnership with the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO), Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)-Africa Centre, and Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub.
The forum, Africa’s largest convention on bioeconomy, is expected to attract government officials, scientists, entrepreneurs, investors and civil society actors, convening virtually (link), with limited in-person participation at icipe, under the theme: “Building a Sustainable and Resilient African Bioeconomy.”
Skillsmatch upscales Digital Transformation of East African Industries
Arusha, Tanzania, 9th November 2021: The East African Community (EAC), through its project ‘’Digital Skills for an Innovative East African Industry’’ (dSkills@EA), has launched an online matchmaking platform for skills. Skillsmatch links young professionals with businesses for jobs, internships and applied master theses and aims to bridge the skills gap, especially regarding digital skills for the application and development of digital products and services that are needed in the region’s industry. Skillsmatch is an easy-to-use online platform for providing businesses and young professionals with relevant matches to their needs, supported by Artificial Intelligence.
The launch took place at the YouLead Summit 2021 in Arusha, Tanzania, following the presidential addresses by H.E Paul Kagame, the President of the Republic of Rwanda and H.E Jakaya Kikwete, the former President of the United Republic of Tanzania.
The EAC Secretary General, Hon. Dr. Peter Mathuki, and the Ambassador of Germany to Tanzania, H.E. Regine Heß unveiled the platform to the public.
“Our goal is to help the youth in the EAC become better skilled to lead transformational change in the business environment under the current trend of digitalization. Together, we have an incredible responsibility and opportunity to share our experiences in an authentic way and ensure that our collaborative efforts are shaping the next generation of youth employment and innovation transfer,” said H.E. Regine Heß.
“We are putting more effort to support universities in the region to produce graduates that are relevant for the job market to reduce youth unemployment. We urge companies to use the Skillsmatch platform to spotlight and prompt action around key challenges to digital inclusion by supporting young professionals to gain industry practical experience through internships”, said Prof. Gaspard Banyankimbona, the IUCEA Executive Secretary.
John Bosco Kalisa, EABC CEO, noted that, “according to McKinsey’s survey on reskilling, it has been highlighted that nearly 9 in 10 executives and managers say their organizations either face skill gaps already or expect gaps to develop within the next five years. One-third of companies’ workforce across East Africa face disruptions resulting from technology and market trends that require reskilling of professionals; thus, it is relevant that the market has available a pool of talent that can help support businesses for socio-economic growth.”
Notes to Editors
dSkills@EA is a project of the EAC, in cooperation with the German Government, that aims at strengthening employment and innovation-related digital skills of youth in the EAC and supports the industry’s digital transformation. The project is implemented by the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), the Centre of Excellence for ICT in East Africa (CENIT@EA) at the Nelson Mandela African Institution for Science and Technology (NM-AIST), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and an East African-German academic consortium, including the DAAD and the University of Oldenburg. For any inquiries about the project please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
We invite you to become part of the Skillsmatch community and register using the following link: www.skillsmatch-iucea.org .
For media inquiries contact
Godwin Bonge Muhwezi, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
…as 2021 Youlead Summit starts in Arusha, Tanzania
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 9th November, 2021: The President of the Republic of Kenya, H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, has urged fellow African leaders to prioritize the participation of youth on the continent in economic and political affairs Africa to expand Africa’s productive workforce and promoting entrepreneurship.
President Kenyatta said that the youth had lots of energy and ideas that could be harnessed as positive instruments of change to counteract the adverse impact of COVID-19 and climate change.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 8th November, 2021: The East African Community (EAC) and Germany sign Agreements on technical and financial cooperation worth up to USD 35 million in the areas of integrated water resource management, economic integration and pandemic preparedness
H.E. the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Tanzania, Regine Hess and the Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC) Hon. (Dr.) Peter Mathuki have today signed technical and financial cooperation worth up to USD 35 million between the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the East African Community (EAC).
These agreements pave the way for the implementation of three new joint development projects.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 8th November, 2021: A five-day meeting of the Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (SCTIFI) is currently underway via hybrid (physical and virtual) means.
The SCTIFI meeting kicked-off with the Session of Senior Officials that is expected to conclude on Wednesday, 10th November, 2021. Among the items on the agenda of the SCTIFI are the: Status of Implementation of the Previous Decisions of SCTIFI; Report of the Sectoral Committee on Customs; Report of the Sectoral Committee of Trade; and; Report on Competition Matters.
