Raising the benchmark on environmental management: Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) seeks water harvesting solutions
The coastal city of Mombasa experiences heavy rains and flooding several times a year. Whenever the rains pound this historic destination, the storm water causes havoc sometimes resulting in loss of human life and destruction of property. Despite the constant flow of the mighty Tana River into the Indian Ocean and the huge volumes of […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
It’s not just a cocoa bean
If you wanted to transform 1,500 families in Tanzania, where would you start? How about with a cup of chocolate? By helping cocoa farmers in Tanzania access the market profitably, TMA’s Challenge Fund, beneficiary Kokoa Kamili is transforming their lives for the long term. 65 year old David Sanga lives in Mbingu Village in the […]
Bridging the socio-economic divide with mangoes
It’s a long way from Makerere University in Uganda’s capital Kampala to the rural district of Yumbe, in the north-west of the country, bordering South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Approximately 600 KM. The two places are also separated by climate, topography and, significantly, socio-economic status. It’s fitting then, that they are drawn […]
A mixed approach facilitates cross border trade leading to increased revenue, incomes and improved livelihoods
Allen Twinomugisha, a mother of 7, trades at the Uganda/Rwanda Border at Mirama Hills. She crosses from Uganda to the Rwanda town of Kayonza to sell bananas and other agricultural produce at-least 4 times a day. She makes a profit of UGX10, 000 per day (US$61 per month). Judging from the busy transporters on bicycles, […]