East African Business Notifier

Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan TOKYO—As G7 finance ministers were meeting in Paris this month, the bond market was telling us what their official communiqués would not. The  30-year US Treasury yield  touched 5.2% on May 19—the highest rate since 2007—while  Germany’s 10-year Bund  hit a 15-year high and the  30-year Japanese government bond  set a fresh record of its own. These movements came after the US Federal Reserve decided, in April, to hold rates at 3.5–3.75%, with the Federal Open Market Committee  more divided  than it has been in three decades.  Across the Atlantic, markets put the odds of a European Central Bank rate hike by December at  85% . After five years of being told that inflation was transitory, then conquered, then transitory again, investors have concluded otherwise. Monetary policy is operating in a new environment, under conditions that are fundamentally different from those in which modern inflation targeting was designed...

Stakeholders in Uganda’s agriculture sector, have called for stronger collaboration between financial institutions, regulators, manufacturers and farmers to combat counterfeit agricultural inputs and strengthen food security efforts across Sub-Saharan Africa. The call was made during the second edition of the CropLife Uganda Symposium held at Sheraton Hotel Kampala under the theme: ‘Emerging trends in seeds, crop protection and fertiliser industry: Embracing change and sustainability to ensure food security, health and safety’. The symposium brought together policymakers, agribusiness leaders, regulators, researchers, development partners and farmers to discuss agricultural innovation, regulatory readiness and sustainable food production. Dr. Paul Mwambu, Commissioner for Crop Inspection and Certification at the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), said the government had made progress in the fight against counterfeit agricultural inputs but stressed the need...

  By Timothy Wilkins Okanya For years, Uganda’s oil story has been told in the future tense. We’ve navigated a decade of discoveries in the Albertine Graben, sat through marathon negotiations, and watched the rigs rise with a mix of patience and prayer.  But the wait is over. With the First Oil in sight, the story is shifting into the present. The conversation has moved from whether we will produce to who will actually benefit. The numbers are staggering: 230,000 barrels of oil per day at peak production. On paper, this is Uganda’s moment to shine as a serious energy player, backed by a strong national push for local content meant to ensure our own businesses claim their seat at the table. Yet, for many local companies, stepping through those doors is not as straightforward as signing a contract.  Our SMEs are the heartbeat of this economy, according to the Uganda National Bureau of Statistics, accounting for over 90% of the private sector and keeping the nation employed,...

  BY PAUL TENTENA  Africa’s agricultural AI opportunity sits at a defining crossroads. While African agriculture contributes roughly 25% of GDP, employs 60% of the population, and holds approximately 65% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, structural constraints continue to limit productivity, resilience, and food security. Although the region is not short of agricultural AI innovation, less than 10% of African farms currently use precision farming tools, even as Africa spends more than US$90 billion annually on food imports. For Thule Lenneiye, Chief of Staff & Strategy at AGRA, Africa’s agritech moment depends less on AI models and more on the infrastructure of trust, data, and incentives that connects them to farmers. In her view, the future of African agritech depends on combining AI with strong community-based support systems rather than attempting to replace them entirely. Focusing specifically on East African agriculture, Lenneiye argues that the challenge is n...

       African leaders, international financial bodies, and global energy experts convened at the second edition of the Nuclear Energy Innovation Summit for Africa (NEISA 2026) to transition the continent’s nuclear energy ambitions into realities. At the heart of the summit, the Ministerial Compact Roundtables brought together key regional and global leaders to outline concrete pathways for financing and implementing nuclear infrastructure across African newcomer countries. Discussing regional integration as a financing catalyst, Jimmy Gasore, Rwanda’s Minister for Infrastructure, emphasized that African nations must unite to share the immense financial and regulatory burdens of nuclear programs.  Leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Minister Gasore highlighted how a unified market of 1.4 billion people and a GDP exceeding $3 trillion USD can unlock the necessary economies of scale. "For us in Africa, cooperation is not an option, but a n...

  Global average temperatures are likely to continue at or near record levels in the next five years, with Arctic temperature anomalies expected to continue to be higher than the global mean, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), produced by the UK’s Met Office.   The Global Annual-to-Decadal Update also takes a look at the observed climate over the past five years and gives regional predictions for temperatures and precipitation over the next five years.    Annual global mean near-surface temperatures during 2026–2030 are predicted to range between 1.3°C and 1.9°C above the 1850-1900 average. It is likely (86% chance) that one year between 2026 and 2030 will surpass 2024 as the warmest year on record, according to the update.   It is very likely (91% chance) that the global mean near-surface temperature will temporarily exceed 1.5°C above the 1850-1900 average levels for at least one year between 2026 and 2030. This le...