Local small businesses reap from infrastructure development at Mutukula
Situated 1,441 kilometres from the commercial capital Dar es Salaam lies a border post called Mutukula between Tanzania and Uganda, near the shores of Lake Victoria. Until very recently electricity was only provided on the Ugandan side, leaving many small businesses on the Tanzanian side literally in the dark. However, things on the Tanzanian side […]
Supporting Kenya’s industrialisation: Mombasa port, SEZs and targeted development cooperation
The SET programme has highlighted Kenya’s lagging industrialisation, characterised by falling manufacturing to GDP ratios in the past few decades. Nonetheless, there is a real opportunity in the coming few years to get it right, doubling manufacturing output and creating 300,000 manufacturing jobs in the country. This will require implementation of a range of appropriate policies. The SET […]
Rwanda customs body certifies 22 authorised economic operators in Rwanda facilitating faster and smoother trade
Kigali, Rwanda, 28th September 2017 – Rwanda revenue Authority (RRA) have signed MOU’s and awarded certificates of recognition to twenty-two (22) companies in Rwanda who have been granted special customs status as Authorized Economic Operators (AEO). The event was witnessed by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Hon. Vincent Munyeshyaka, Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) Commissioner General, Richard Tusabe, Acting USAID […]
Achieving gender equality at the port- Kenya’s first female marine pilot
Elizabeth Marami did not really know what she was getting into, when she applied to become a marine captain through the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA). “It was not something that I was interested in as a kid, but I was always up for a challenge. When I got called in and I learnt what it […]
Nucafé – turning coffee farmers to exporters
TMA partnered with Uganda’s NUCAFE to invest in a coffee roasting machine. This enabled farmers to process coffee beans, ultimately increasing the value of their produce by 30% as compared to selling raw unprocessed beans. NUCAFE seeks to improve the lives of coffee farmers by promoting a farmer ownership model. The model holds that farmers […]
South Sudan National Bureau of Standards inks partnership with Kenya Bureau of Standards
Nairobi, 31th August 2017: South Sudan National Bureau of Standards (SSNBS) stands to benefit from training and technical expertise of Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), according to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the two institutions. The MOU will promote cooperation in standardization, conformity assessment and training and will provide framework and mechanism for bilateral cooperation […]
Arrival of ultra-modern diesel electric cranes to increase capacity and efficiency in handling cargo for a greener Mombasa Port
Mombasa, Kenya, 29th August 2017 – Kenya Ports Authority’s (KPA) equipment acquisition efforts for the Port of Mombasa got a major boost on Tuesday following the arrival of two ultra-modern diesel electric cranes.The cranes funded by Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) through the UK government’s International Climate Fund (ICF) facility were procured at a total […]
Meeting standards means access to markets for Kenya’s horticultural farmers
Kenya’s horticultural farmers are being trained in good agricultural practices. History has shown us the social and economic transformation that is possible when people can grow enough food. It has also confirmed that when the same people access markets to sell excess produce, generations will feel and enjoy the impacts. Thus, the ability to improve […]
Annie’s Metal Works, Interior and Ex Designs – a budding business that has crossed Ugandan borders
30-year-old Annie Nakizibu Mirembe has crossed borders in trade to market and expand her steel welding business. “I started doing it as a hobby because I love art and design. I never went to school to acquire this skill,” the graduate of Bachelor of Library and Information Science says of breaking barriers in the male-dominated steel […]
The power of one
Co-operatives open opportunities for Rwanda cross-border traders. Driving south from Kigali to the Burundi border, you might think that Nemba is one of the luckier border towns in Rwanda. A good road connects its unusually quiet trading centre to the nation’s busy capital, and the journey lasts only an hour, unlike the winding, up-hill distances […]