UNBS and TradeMark Africa Launch Regional Media Trainings to Strengthen Uganda’s Quality Ecosystem
In a strategic move to boost national quality standards and export competitiveness, the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) and TradeMark Africa (TMA), with funding from UK International Development, have kicked off a comprehensive media training program for journalists and content producers. The training, taking place concurrently in Mukono and Mbale, has drawn selected media […]
New Netherlands-funded export-oriented market access project to boost Burundi’s exports and economic growth
Bujumbura, Burundi – February 20th, 2025: A new market access project for enterprises in Burundi, dubbed UGUSHORA (to sell/export in Kirundi), has been launched to support economic development and job creation in the country by supporting export-oriented investments and businesses. The project is funded by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Burundi and implemented by […]
Burundi cross-border traders tipped on how to report trade barriers on a mobile phone app
The East African Community (EAC) Secretariat and TradeMark Africa’s Burundi Programme conducted a two-day training on Non-Tarriff Barriers (NTBs) for Burundi’s cross border trade participants. Held on April 15-16, 2024, the training enlightened attendees on identifying, monitoring, and reporting obstacles to trade using the newly launched EAC-NTBs mobile app, which is designed to streamline the […]
East African and international political leaders and financial experts highlight sustainable investment best practice
The Secretary General of East African Community today joined more than 150 African business leaders, financial experts and diplomats in the Nairobi EU-Africa Green Talk to share investment best practice and outline how to mobilise private sector support for sustainable development across Africa. “Recent innovative investment across East Africa has transformed access for millions of […]
Cutting red tape for resilient trade, one procedure at a time
Simplification works. Exporters, and importers of fresh or dry produce to Kenya are required to register with Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS). Until recently, this registration took between 10 to 28 days with the traders completing a total of 10 steps and filling in 13 documents. A time-consuming effort that was also costly. Simplification […]
Building bold businesswomen, one at a time
The Editorial of Burundi’s Jimbere Magazine recently remarked that the TradeMark Africa (TMA) Women in Trade programme has, “Offered hundreds of Burundian women and girls the opportunity to learn and achieve their dreams. It has restored their pride in earning incomes, enabling them to become taxpayers and therefore contribute to the development of the country. Before […]
COVID-19 accelerates greater trade coordination in East Africa
It took a traffic jam of a couple thousand trucks at the Malaba border between Kenya and Uganda to fully visualize both the health and trade issues at stake when borders operate at optimum.The COVID-19 crisis has revealed both hairline fractures along borders in East Africa and the potential to solve them through better regional […]
Strengthening laboratory testing capabilities to increase the number of tested parameters and reduction in testing time – The Case of Burundi
Context: Burundi is a landlocked country whose manufacturing sector is still in infancy stages and the country is heavily dependent on bilateral and multilateral aid (Burundi Public Expenditure Review by World Bank, 2013). The Burundi Bureau of Standards (BBN) is the public body in charge of standards and conformity related activities in Burundi. The WTO’s 2005 […]