East African Business Notifier

  BY PAUL TENTENA Africa’s aviation sector is entering a period of significant expansion, but access to capital remains a major constraint for airlines seeking to grow their fleets.  As demand for aircraft increases, insurance could play a critical role in giving lenders greater confidence to finance them. With Uganda, ordering about six Boeing Aircrafts to add to its Uganda Airlines fleet, which is expected to be delivered in 2032, African fleets average around 13 years of age, and most carriers grow through quality used aircraft and engines rather than factory orders.  With engine shop-visit backlogs and new-delivery delays pushing spare-engine demand and values to record levels, the EIRS approach responds to a pressing need: airlines and lessors need engines financed today, and lenders need cover to do it. “Insurance exists to turn two risks, ‘what if the plane is destroyed or seized?’ and ‘what if the airline stops paying?’, into something a bank is allowed to lend ag...

BY PAUL TENTENA Countries and communities, especially in resource-rich Africa, must benefit most from the minerals in their own backyards, speakers affirmed at a Security Council debate on “Natural resources governance:  the foundation of peace, security and prosperity”. The demand for critical energy transition minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements is set to almost  triple  by 2030.  In its March briefing on energy, critical minerals and security, the Council heard that  mining has been linked to human rights abuses and conflict .  Ministers and delegates today stressed the importance of ensuring that these resources support development, even as they differed on what resource governance should look like. UN Secretary-General António Guterres drew attention to how revenues from illicit exploitation are pushing peace out of reach — “by strengthening armed and criminal actors, connecting local violence to re...

  The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in partnership with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), convened a Second Stakeholders' Consultative Workshop to guide the development of the COMESA Sustainable Tourism Development Framework, Implementation Plan and Regional Tourism Business Cases. The workshop gave Member States and key stakeholders the opportunity to review preliminary findings, validate the proposed strategic direction, and provide technical guidance ahead of the finalization of the Framework and its accompanying business cases. It builds on the First Stakeholders’ Consultation Workshop held in Diani, Kenya, in April 2026, which established the initiative's strategic priorities, identified key regional challenges, and agreed on a roadmap for developing the Framework. Opening the workshop, Mr Lotfi Hamza, COMESA Officer-in-Charge representing Director of Industry and Agriculture, welcomed ECA's technical and financial partn...

Amid the diversity of media messages and differing orientations, real achievements and major development projects remain the most credible criteria for assessing the nature of relations between countries.  They reflect the true extent of cooperation and partnership on the ground, away from any attempts at distortion or presenting inaccurate images. The inauguration of the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant in Tanzania represents a prominent model of Egyptian-Tanzanian cooperation and embodies Egypt’s supportive role in Africa’s development journey through transferring expertise and contributing to the implementation of a strategic project that serves the aspirations of the Tanzanian people and supports sustainable development efforts. In this context, anthropologist Hassan Ghazaly, founder of the Pan African Initiative on media and journalism "Afromedia, stated that the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant project represents an important model of African cooperation based on partnership a...

By Ali Ssekatawa The year is 2029. Location: Masaka City. Venue:   Ssekabaka Daudi Chwa II EACOP Stadium.  On a wet November afternoon as the rain beats a gentle rhythm, the Kabaka of Buganda Ronald Muwenda Mutebi makes a grand entrance for the finale of the Masaza Cup, the annual Buganda Kingdom football tournament featuring teams from the 18 Counties, as the packed stadium thunders with loud cheers. Picture the scene! As the Kabaka of Buganda from 1897 to 1939, Kabaka Chwa II contributed immensely to the development and promotion of the football sport in what is known today as Uganda. From 1924 he captained the  Kabaka’s XI , one of the earliest football teams, co-founded Kampala Football Association, the precursor to the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA), and donated the land on which Nakivubo Stadium, later renamed Nakivubo War Memorial Grounds, was built. More than 100 years later, on July 23, Buganda Kingdom in partnership with the East African Crude...

BY PAUL TENTENA Uganda has launched a major three-year initiative to strengthen climate resilience across its livestock, land and insurance systems, marking a significant step in a broader regional effort to transform food systems in the face of escalating climate shocks. The initiative, part of the programme on “Accelerating Food Systems Transformation for Resilience to Climate Change in Africa”, is led by the Government of Uganda in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). It will also be implemented in Kenya and Somalia. Livestock is central to Uganda’s economy, supporting an estimated 4.5 million people and contributing about 17 per cent of agricultural GDP. Yet, the country remains vulnerable to climate change and weather variability, necessitating the need for building resilience of livestock-based food systems. The new ...