The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the globe and disrupted the lives of billions of people in every corner of the world. Eastern Africa has not been left unscathed. The pandemic has affected trade and economic activity in a fundamental way. Whereas many have weighed the impact of COVID-19 on health terms, we in trade facilitation have seen firsthand how debilitating its impact has been to global trade, disrupting supply chains across the globe. This knowledge informed our quick adaptation, and helped to offset major trade disruptions experienced in the Eastern, Southern and Horn of Africa Region. The impact of COVID-19 hit TMA closer home. Cuts to donor funding caused by COVID-19 inflicted economic recession in donor countries necessitated a human resource restructuring process, and scaling down of programming. Nevertheless, TMA was resilient and delivered strong impact. I am honoured to mention a few of the interventions and associated impacts achieved in the last year, as I welcome you to read about many more in this annual report. SAFE TRADE Amongst the quick counter and cushioning measures we implemented were the Safe Trade Emergency Facility Programme (Safe Trade), a multi-donor funded and multi- stakeholder programme that enabled governments and communities to adopt short- to medium-term measures for safe continuity of trade. The innovation driving Safe Trade won an award during the Paris Peace Forum due to its focus on the immediate threat posed by the pandemic, and post- COVID-19 recovery that empowered communities to bounce back better. Recovery efforts have also...

The better part of the last two financial years have been marked by unprecedented global focus on COVID-19, the global pandemic that took the World by surprise. The numerous natural, economic, and intellectual resources that have been spent to contain the spread of the rapidly-mutating enigmatic disease, and to eradicate it, have been worthwhile. In the Eastern Africa region for instance, conditions for external trade and investment have tremendously improved due to enhanced focus on trade as a key ingredient for economic resilience. This, I dare state, is a direct result of joint efforts by TradeMark Africa (TMA), the region’s Governments, donors and other partners, to accelerate innovative approaches to trade in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. By the start of the 2020/2021 financial year, exports of most East African Community Partner States had surpassed their 2019 levels, whilst imports recovered to pre-pandemic levels, testimony of increased regional resilience. At TMA, we strove to maintain progress and associated developmental gains generated over the years, that could have been easily reversed by the effects of the pandemic. In our commitment to make meaningful and resolute impact through inclusive and sustainable trade in the region, TMA intensified focus on innovation and digital transition, simultaneously with its expansion plan. Innovation and digital transition enabled markets and borders to safely remain open for continued trade, thus speeding up recovery and promoting traders’ resilience. This contrasts with other parts of the Continent whose trade continues to be affected by the pandemic. The Safe Trade...

2021 marked an important watershed moment for global trade, as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic started to subside, and countries began to post stronger economic growth. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), global trade touched a high of $28 trillion, 11% growth from pre-pandemic levels. Trade in services is however yet to fully recover. Furthermore, while the global trade growth remained uneven across countries and sectors, it was broader towards the end of the year. Its therefore still early to celebrate yet, even though the future might be promising. The global picture bears similarities with activities in TradeMark East Africa, which has continued to post impressive results in addition to expanding our geographical footprint across Africa, whilst battling COVID-19 induced disruptions. It is for instance gratifying to see many women traders from vulnerable backgrounds being able to maintain their livelihoods due to medically COVID- 19 compliant markets that were constructed during the year to safeguard them and their clients. Similarly, seeing many regional micro, small and medium enterprises reap the benefits of reducing costs of trade due to various interventions such as growing digitisation of trade services by regional Governments, and improved evacuation of cargo along key trade corridors, are heart-warming. Amidst this, TMEA’s approach to trade facilitation continued to be relevant, in high demand, and impactful. Development of physical and digital trade corridors, promotion of inclusive trade, supporting standards harmonisation, and increasing the private sector’s voice in reforming trade policies have enabled many...

2021 marked an important watershed moment for global trade, as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic started to subside, and countries began to post stronger economic growth. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), global trade touched a high of $28 trillion, 11% growth from pre-pandemic levels. Trade in services is however yet to fully recover. Furthermore, while the global trade growth remained uneven across countries and sectors, it was broader towards the end of the year. Its therefore still early to celebrate yet, even though the future might be promising. The global picture bears similarities with activities in TradeMark Africa, which has continued to post impressive results in addition to expanding our geographical footprint across Africa, whilst battling COVID-19 induced disruptions. It is for instance gratifying to see many women traders from vulnerable backgrounds being able to maintain their livelihoods due to medically COVID- 19 compliant markets that were constructed during the year to safeguard them and their clients. Similarly, seeing many regional micro, small and medium enterprises reap the benefits of reducing costs of trade due to various interventions such as growing digitisation of trade services by regional Governments, and improved evacuation of cargo along key trade corridors, are heart-warming. Amidst this, TMA’s approach to trade facilitation continued to be relevant, in high demand, and impactful. Development of physical and digital trade corridors, promotion of inclusive trade, supporting standards harmonisation, and increasing the private sector’s voice in reforming trade policies have enabled many nations...

Finland Ambassador to Kenya, H.E. Pirkka Tapiola says his country is committed to doubling trade with Africa over the next decade. The ambassador spoke while touring the Port of Mombasa on Friday. The envoy commended the Government of Kenya and Development Partners for supporting Port Reforms and Modernisation Programme over the last decade that has dramatically improved evacuation of cargo at the facility. It for instance used to take 11 days to process imports through Mombasa in 2010, the time had fallen to only 5.5 days by 2017. The time to transport a container from Mombasa to Bujumbura also fell by 16.5% over the period. The Government of Finland, through TradeMark Africa has over the last decade invested more than US$13.1 million to support various projects in and around the Port of Mombasa. Finland also contributed US$445,000 to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) through the Safe Trade Emergency facility by TradeMark Africa, a project that sought to keep ports, borders, and critical supply chains in the region safe for trade at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ambassador was received by General Manager Human Resources and Administration Mr. Daniel Ogutu and TradeMark Africa Deputy CEO, Allen Asiimwe.  The KPA General Manager noted that the support provided at the outset of COVID-19 was critical in keeping the port running. He further noted that port output slowed down due to COVID-19-related interruptions, calling on all stakeholders to work together to address such challenges. TradeMark Africa Deputy CEO and Chief of Programmes...

COVID-19 has hit women disproportionately hard across East Africa, especially those working in the informal sector. Lessons must be learnt to prevent this from happening again. Women in East Africa can look back over recent history with a sense of struggle and accomplishment, of regression and progression. Women's activism was ingrained in many of the independence movements that took hold across the region throughout the 20th century. In many respects, East Africa has achieved greater gender parity than many other parts of the world. Rwanda's lower house in Parliament, for example, is 61 percent female, the highest proportion globally, according to its Inter-Parliamentary Union. But increased representation has not always translated to real changes for ordinary women, especially in the world of business, a historic central pillar of the global drive for equality. 'Celebrating the past…' Activist Clara Zetkin, inspired by the nascent women's movement in the US, first suggested the idea of an International Working Women's Day in 1910, which was granted official status by the UN in 1975. The inaugural theme was 'Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future'. Today, women the world over are increasingly afforded more rights and freedoms. In Kenya, the introduction of the 'Linda Mama' insurance scheme ensures mothers can safely give birth without worrying about the financial cost. Initiatives like this will continue to lower maternal mortality rates, which saw a 49 percent drop across sub-Saharan Africa between 1990 and 2013. Across the region, all but two EAC members have achieved the 30...

Trade and economic growth impact the environment and societies involved either positively through increased incomes, livelihood, and capacity for improved environmental management or negatively through increased industrial pollution and degradation of the environment and natural resources. At the same time environmental hazards and climate change could negatively impact trade by disrupting supply, transport, and distribution chains which in turn increases costs, change trade patterns and weaken private sector competitiveness and local communities for local production and exports. Weaving the three pillars of sustainability - economic, environmental, and social into the trade fabric guarantee realization of positive outcomes from trade. Such sustainable trade would ensure that an optimal balance is maintained between realising economic benefits and sharing them equally with stakeholders without destroying nature and biodiversity and safeguarding the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Trademark East Africa (TMA) champions sustainable trade in Eastern Africa and firmly believes that enhanced sustainable trade in the region will contribute to economic growth, reduced poverty, and increased prosperity. Our key result areas focus on contributing to efficiency and reducing transport costs and time, boosting intra and extra-regional exports, and creating decent jobs. As such, internationally agreed environmental and social sustainability standards are mainstreamed into all our programmes geared to realisation of these key result areas. In terms of economic sustainability, we have supported reducing non-tariff barriers to trade and the optimization of process and IT for efficient transport and logistics. Environmental sustainability has been fostered through support in the greening of...

As Eastern African economies continue to grow rapidly, so do the respective transport and logistics sectors, and the associated Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and pollution. As we know, increased traffic and pollution threaten safety, health and life of road transport users and citizens. The situation is further worsened by inefficiencies which exist in the regions’ road transport and logistics sectors. Costs per km of transporting a freight container from Mombasa to Kigali still costs 3 times more than in developed countries. Some 95% of the freight transport is hauled on roads, while water (maritime, inland lakes) and rail transport, which are less polluting modes of freight transport have remained underdeveloped and underutilised. TradeMark Africa (TMA) has worked with the Northern and Central Corridors for years in the joint Observatories programme to collect and manage freight transport related information, and in 2018 included a climate change tool to monitor Green House Gas (GHG) emissions and pollution along the corridors. Key partners involved in the development of the international standards-based tool were Climate Care and Meghraj Capital consultants. Responsiveness to climate change challenges varies regionally and in the partner states. A lot of progress has been made in the fight against climate change at the national level with- countries being members of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and signatories of the Paris agreement having formulated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and report on them through National Communications (NCs). The report on the freight transport sector tool however reveals that there...

If you were a manufacturer of medical supplies with market openings in multiple East African Community (EAC) Partner States, you would have to wait at least two weeks, to register the products in each of the countries. Furthermore, you would discover similarities in some of the registration documents, thus having to enter the same information multiple times. Meanwhile, the prolonged processes would delay stocking of your medical products like medicine, by EAC traders, and consumers would suffer. Medical products imported into any EAC country must adhere to regulations of the country’s National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), which vary across the countries. For manufacturers registering their products in multiple partner states, the process is time consuming and expensive, as accessing compliance information for each partner state is tedious. This often results in delayed access to essential medicines, and in some cases, reduced compliance to regulations that ensure safety of medicines and medical devices, which may put millions of lives at risk. To overcome these challenges, the EAC Secretariat is working with EAC Partner States to harmonise regulation of medicines across the region. One of the interventions of the EAC Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation (EAC-MRH) Programme is to establish an Information Management System named, EAC Food and Drug Authority Regional Information Sharing Platform, that facilitates exchanging critical information on the requirements for pharmaceutical registration, and the required standards for medicines, processed foods, and medical devices. The system will enable different NMRAs to jointly register manufacturers through a single application; and other stakeholders to...

26th February, Nairobi - United Kingdom (UK) Trade Envoy to Kenya Theo Clarke has today virtually visited projects funded by UK government in Kenya among them the Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS), Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS) and Regional Electronic Cargo and Driver Tracking System (RECTDS) implemented in partnership with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). Speaking during the virtual visit, attended by senior government officials and officials from TradeMark Africa (TMA), through which these projects were funded, the envoy underscored the special trade relationship between Kenya and the UK. Trade between the two nations was worth Ksh 79 billion in 2019 with the trade balance in favour of Kenya. Main Kenyan exports to the UK in the year were coffee, tea and spices at Ksh 18.6 billion (£121 million), vegetables at Ksh 12.1 billion (£79 million) and live plants mainly flowers at Ksh 8.3 billion (£54 million). The UK market accounted for 43% of total exports from Kenya as well as 9% of her cut flowers. British firms sold East Africa’s leading economy goods worth Ksh 125 billion (£815 million) mainly in machinery, pharmaceuticals, and automobiles. The UK is the largest European foreign investor in Kenya, with more than 100 British firms based in Kenya among them Vodafone, BAT, Diageo, Standard Chartered Bank, GlaxoSmithKline, ACTIS, Unilever and De La Rue. The UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Kenya, Theo Clarke MP, said: “I am pleased that during the day of my first virtual visit as the Prime Minister’s Trade...