The Middle East crisis: A stress test for African trade resilience
The escalating Middle East crisis is emerging as a major stress test for Africa’s trade resilience, disrupting supply chains across the continent while also creating a potential opening for key ports in East and Southern Africa to capture more maritime traffic. With shipping once again diverting around the Cape of Good Hope amid the strategic […]
East Africa sets 2026 deadline to scrap trade barriers, but past disputes raise doubts
The decision, reached at the bloc’s 25th Ordinary Summit in Arusha on March 7, underscores efforts to remove longstanding obstacles that continue to slow the movement of goods across member states. Non-tariff barriers, ranging from bureaucratic delays and inconsistent standards to restrictive licensing regimes, have long raised the cost of doing business within the region. […]
Non-tariff barriers could hurt East Africa’s integration gains
For more than a decade, East Africa has steadily built one of the most compelling regional integration stories on the continent. Governments, working with development partners, have made significant investments in One-Stop Border Posts, and digital customs systems have replaced much of the physical paperwork that once slowed trade. This enables goods to be cleared […]
La reconstruction du pont frontalier de Togwajaale démarre : TMA et la Suède donnent le coup d’envoi des travaux
Togwajaale, le 4 mai 2026 : TradeMark Africa (TMA) a organisé aujourd’hui la cérémonie d’inauguration des travaux de reconstruction du pont frontalier de Togwajaale, un axe commercial essentiel reliant le Somaliland et l’Éthiopie le long du corridor de Berbera. Cet événement marque une étape majeure dans le renforcement du commerce régional et de la connectivité […]
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 […]
Traders brace for higher costs as Tanzania joins Kenya in raising port tariffs
Traders across East Africa face rising costs after Tanzania introduced new cargo handling tariffs, just weeks after Kenya raised its own. The Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) says the revised charges, effective from January 9, 2026, will increase port service fees by between 2 and 15 percent, adding fresh pressure to logistics and consumer prices in […]
Africa’s Entrepreneurs Confront Rising Non‑Tariff Trade Barriers
Africa’s trade challenges have shifted decisively. Tariffs, once the headline obstacle, are no longer the biggest threat. Instead, non‑tariff measures (NTMs)—fragmented standards, slow and inconsistent testing regimes, unrecognised certificates, and unresolved procedural disputes—are quietly shutting firms out of markets. TradeMark Africa’s (TMA) 2024–25 Annual Report underscores the point: “Tariffs are no longer the main obstacle to Africa’s […]
Traders brace for higher costs as Tanzania joins Kenya in raising port tariffs
Traders across East Africa face rising costs after Tanzania introduced new cargo handling tariffs, just weeks after Kenya raised its own. The Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) says the revised charges, effective from January 9, 2026, will increase port service fees by between 2 and 15 percent, adding fresh pressure to logistics and consumer prices in […]
Launch of Berbera Food Laboratory by H.E. Muse Bihi, President of Somaliland
Berbera 15th Sept: The Berbera Food Laboratory was launched today in a colourful ceremony officiated by Somaliland President H.E. Muse Bihi Abdi along with senior government officials, representatives of the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) and TradeMark Africa (TMA). The US$ 484, 540 project was funded by FCDO and implemented by Somaliland Quality Control […]
Safe Trade Zones provide respite for small scale cross border women traders – Ethiopia
TradeMark Africa with project implementing partner Horn of Africa Voluntary Youth Committee (HAVOYOCO), project donors European Union, IGAD and Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office launched a modern market project on the Ethiopia and Somaliland border under the Safe Trade Zones. This market for informal women traders in Ethiopia’s border is being constructed with key health […]