Made in Tanzania electronic certificates of origin a delight to Tanzania-based exporters
From commercial to regulatory formalities, export procedures are often burdensome and time consuming for the average businessperson. Small delays in the implementation of any of these or more procedures have the potential to bring serious negative impact on businesses. “Buyers’ minds are often directed at obtaining a quality service or product, and in a timely manner. They are […]
Technology reduces lurking danger for truck drivers and goods
“Armed men broke his windscreen and started hitting him with an iron bar. They stole the goods he was carrying and left him for dead. By the time help came, it was too late. He had died from excessive bleeding,”-Patrick Mutinda, former Truck driver. East Africa’s Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking system (RECTS) has many benefits some of which include safety of […]
Technology reduces lurking danger for truck drivers and goods
“Armed men broke his windscreen and started hitting him with an iron bar. They stole the goods he was carrying and left him for dead. By the time help came, it was too late. He had died from excessive bleeding,”-Patrick Mutinda, former Truck driver. East Africa’s Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking system (RECTS) has many benefits some of which include safety of […]
Mariam Babu – Reformed Smuggler Leading Women Cross-Border Traders on the Path to Self-Reliance
Mariam Babu, 43, a mother of five and grandmother to two who sells eggs in Kenya and salt in Uganda via the Busia border town, is not the image that springs to mind when you think of a smuggler. Yet when she recalls her time bringing in products from Kenya into Uganda through abandoned bush […]
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 […]
Fast Track compliance programme a boon for businesses in Uganda
Authorised Economic Operator programme earns rewards for traders For business owners, time is money and delays that hold up delivery of goods represent loss of potential earnings. In Uganda, an AEO programme funded by United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) through TradeMark Africa (TMA) is helping businesses overcome delays by encouraging voluntary compliance. Richard […]
Supporting Rwanda farmers to reduce losses and access markets
For many farmer cooperatives across Rwanda, especially those that farm staple crops, access to finance has always been an issue and this is complicated by post-harvest losses that discourage finance providers from investing in agriculture. Positively, the government of Rwanda is undertaking improvement in infrastructure such as cold storage facilities, road and air transport to […]
TradeMark Africa Climate Change Strategy 2018 – 23
1. Background TradeMark Africa’s (TMA) mission is to promote regional trade, economic integration and competitiveness in East Africa. The region faces significant long-term risks from climate change (CC) because the economies are highly dependent on climate sensitive sectors such as agriculture. This proposed Climate Change Strategy complements TMA’s Corporate Strategy 2018-2023 by building climate resilient […]