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I STARTED DREADING FLIGHTS MORE THAN BUSES
By Elizabeth R. Auma K, Trade Policy Leader/Bridging Policy, People & Purpose/ Founder, Hearts&Trade I got to a point where I dreaded flying more than taking a bus. Not because I do not love flying. I do. It makes me admire the clouds from a completely different angle. My reason for this change is that…
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What if we treated traders like diplomats?
By Elizabeth R. Auma K, Trade Policy Leader/Bridging Policy, People & Purpose/ Founder, Hearts&Trade A couple of years ago I participated in a meeting where one delegate complained that, despite being a Very Important Person (VIP), he had not been accorded the diplomatic courtesies he expected. Other VIPs in the room who had faced the…
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The Policy says yes. The trader sees no change
By Elizabeth R. Auma K, Trade Policy Leader/Bridging Policy, People & Purpose/ Founder, Hearts&Trade I recently participated in the East African Business Council CEO and Investment Summit. What energized me was not only the conversations around trade and investment, but the innovations within the private sector. Business people showcased what they were doing, the investments…
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No free lunch in a capitalist economy
By Elizabeth R. Auma K, Trade Policy Leader/Bridging Policy, People & Purpose/ Founder, Hearts&Trade Today, I listened to Ursula Von Der Leyen, President of the European Commission, deliver the State of the Union address. One statement stayed with me: Europe’s fate must remain in the hands of Europeans. It was a powerful statement not only…
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A USD 560 Journey to my neighbour
By Elizabeth R. Auma K, Trade Policy Leader/Bridging Policy, People & Purpose/ Founder, Hearts&Trade I recently purchased a roundtrip air ticket from Uganda to Tanzania, the United Republic. I could not imagine that the cost of carrying myself across to a neighboring country could be as high as USD 560. If reaching our neighbours costs…
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What if Africa had no landlocked countries?
By Elizabeth R. Auma K, Trade Policy Leader/Bridging Policy, People & Purpose/ Founder, Hearts&Trade During one interactive class engagement, we were asked to stretch our imagination and write a story. At the end of the exercise, the imaginations were indeed out of this world, yet hidden in the young minds. ‘I am my father and…
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The Trade remedies classroom
By Elizabeth R. Auma K, Trade Policy Leader/Bridging Policy, People & Purpose/ Founder, Hearts&Trade Over the last couple of years, I have had the opportunity to take the lead in developing Uganda’s Trade Remedies Bill. Trade remedies are generally designed to protect domestic industries from injury caused by certain forms of unfair trade practices in…
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When removing Non Tariff barriers becomes a Non Tariff Barrier
By Elizabeth R. Auma K, Trade Policy Leader/Bridging Policy, People & Purpose/ Founder, Hearts&Trade Mama Sarah woke up one morning to exciting headlines. Her country, together with other members of a regional bloc, had committed to removing tariffs. To her, the message was: exporting had just become easier. It felt like their long-awaited prayers had…
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Podcast Episode: The village fireplace: A lesson for Africa’s economic growth
Pip: Hearts and Trade — where development economics meets the kind of wisdom that predates the World Trade Organization by several centuries. Mara: Today we’re working through a piece from Elizabeth R. A Kiguli that uses a very specific image — a three-stone fireplace in a village — to make a case about trade, growth,…
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Africa’s transformation through self-investment
By Elizabeth R. Auma K, Trade Policy Leader/Bridging Policy, People & Purpose/ Founder, Hearts&Trade I have attended a number of sessions on financial literacy and one message has repeatedly stood out- if you want to make more money, you must first be willing to invest what you have wisely. The same principle applies in Trade…
A heartbeat in every policy
