Cooperatives catalyse safer and more profitable trade for women at the Kenya-Uganda border
Asmin Abdalla shares a moment with Mariam Mbaabu, chair of Busia Women Cross-Border Traders Cooperative. As the sun rises over Busia, the bustling border town between Kenya and Uganda comes to life. Traders haggle over prices, trucks roll through customs, and the scent of fresh fish fills the air. Among them is Natocho Susan Charity, […]
Sweden Launches Continental Programme to Cut Border Delays and Boost African Exports
Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 10 June 2025 — The Government of Sweden has launched its four-year, $9.3 million multi-country programme, the Swedish Initiative for Facilitating Trade in Africa (SWIFT), that will focus on dismantling persistent logistics and policy bottlenecks that have stifled intra-African trade along the Berbera, Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPSSET) and Abidjan-Lagos Corridors. SWIFT […]
TradeMark Africa hands over Rusizi 2 One Stop Border Post to Rwanda, paving way for enhanced cross-border trade
TradeMark Africa (TMA) officially handed over the newly constructed Rusizi II One Stop Border Post (OSBP) to the Government of Rwanda on 5 June 2025. This significant event paves the way for faster and more efficient cross-border trade and transit between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The handover ceremony was led by […]
DRC and Uganda Launch €25million EU-Funded Projects to Boost Cross-Border Cooperation, Stabilisation, Resilience and Trade at the Border areas.
Kinshasa, DRC – On June 5, 2025, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Uganda, with crucial backing from the European Union (EU), officially launched two significant cross-border projects. These initiatives are designed to bolster stability, resilience, and cooperation, while simultaneously driving down logistical expenses and boosting trade in the border […]
Côte d’Ivoire marks 10 years of trade single window with a pledge to deepen digital reforms
Côte d’Ivoire has marked ten years since the establishment of the Single Window Agency for Foreign Trade with a two-day event in Abidjan, reflecting on a decade of progress and setting new goals for the modernisation of trade procedures. The anniversary event for Côte d’Ivoire’s Guichet Unique du Commerce Extérieur (GUCE-CI) was held on 2 […]
How Uganda’s logistics platform improved the trade environment and why it should continue
Kenneth Ayebare, Director of Transport and Logistics at Private Sector Foundation Uganda, speaks on how the National Logistics Platform transformed Uganda’s logistics sector. “Transport and logistics are the backbone of the economy. Every sector relies on it. Without an efficient logistics system, trade slows, businesses struggle, and economies suffer,” states Kenneth Ayebare, Director, Transport and […]
Validation Workshop at Galafi Paves the Way for Trade Growth in the Horn of Africa
On 26th May 2025, Djibouti’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Equipment, alongside TradeMark Africa (TMA), co-hosted a pivotal validation workshop at Galafi Border. The workshop’s primary aim was to review and confirm the priorities identified during a needs assessment for upgrading both Galafi and PK51. Supported by the European Union through the Agence Française de Développement […]
Enhancing professionalism and efficiency in East Africa’s customs clearance through professional certification
Ondoga Job Filbert, a customs liaison officer at APM Terminals Uganda, stands in front of a Maersk truck. Once a hopeful graduate, Filbert’s journey into logistics was shaped by regional training and certification efforts. For years, East Africa’s borders were chokepoints. Cargo often sat idle for days, and one of the reasons was the lack […]
Mobilising resources to power trade facilitation – which way forward?
As developing countries strive to implement the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), the question of funding—how to mobilise it, how to target it, and how to sustain it—remains at the heart of national conversations. This issue took centre stage during a recent WTO training programme for National Trade Facilitation Committees (NTFCs), where experts […]
Why compliance is stifling Kenya’s fresh produce exports
By Lilian Mwai and Andrew Edewa In 2024, Kenya’s fresh vegetable exports to the European Union (EU) declined sharply by 54.7 percent, from 164,100 tonnes to 74,300 tonnes. This reduction in volume led to a corresponding drop in export earnings from Sh50.9 billion to Sh23.4 billion. The decline is largely attributable to the enforcement of stricter EU pesticide regulations, […]