Unclogging supply chain bottlenecks: So, truckers connect us to our favourite things
The goods arrive at the port of Mombasa in big, lumbering mysterious ships. They come with impossible names like Kota Gadang, Si Hang Yun, Fox, Tramper. They come sailing under the flags of Singapore, Japan, India, Sierra Leone, Panama, China, bringing in palm oil, sorghum, kapok, coconut, sisal, cotton, vehicles, fertiliser, motorbike parts, sugar etc. […]
The Update – June 2021 Edition
GREENING EAST AFRICA The Government of Denmark reiterated its commitment to support green trade and the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in the East African region by signing two financial agreements worth USD 17.5 million with TradeMark East Africa (TMEA).The two agreements will support Kenya’s efforts to transition to Green Trade and creation of sustainable jobs, […]
The Update – January 2021 Issue
SAFE TRADE CONTINUITY & SAFETY DURING COVID-19 TradeMark East Africa announced the launch of the $23m Safe Trade Emergency Facility Programme, to support governments to undertake critical measures along the transport and trade routes that will ensure trade continues safely while protecting livelihoods during COVID-19 and the recovery period. The United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Finland, […]
The Update – October 2020 Issue
MOBILE APP THAT KEEPS DRIVERS SAFE The East Africa Community (EAC) Secretariat and its Partner States rolled out the Regional Electronic Cargo and Driver Tracking System (RECDTs). Funded by the European Union, Global Affairs Canada, Danida, Finland, Netherlands and United Kingdom through TradeMark East Africa, the app enables issuance of EAC COVID-19 digital certificates that […]
The Update – August 2020 Issue
SAFE BORDERS = SAFE TRADE TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) is working closely with its partners to ensure that the impacts of COVID-19 on trade are minimised through implementation of its Safe Trade Emergency Facility (STEF) Programme. One of the key activities under the programme is distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to key trade conduits and […]
Collective trading transforms a widow’s fortune
Modesta Nekesa, 31, has been a farmer for most of her adult life. However, it was not until two years ago that she started making money from her land by cultivating and selling a crop that was unfamiliar in her community – chilli. Ms. Nekesa lives in Busia, a town on the Kenya-Uganda border where […]
Kirabira George: from reluctant farmer to maize standards champion
Before the Kagera War in 1979, Kirabira George Kamya, now 61, had qualified to be a primary school teacher in his village in South Eastern Uganda. His dream of becoming a headmaster at his childhood school was one of the casualties of the war. He worked as a teacher for two years before the ensuing […]
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 […]
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 […]
New initiatives at KEBS reduce certification time, open doors for SMEs
Bureaucratic delays related to standards certification almost led Michael Kimeu* to give up on his ambitions to set up a bottled water business in early 2010’s. Kimeu set up a water distillation and bottling plant on the outskirts of Kajiado, a county to the south west of Kenya’s capital Nairobi. However, he knew that he […]