About TradeMark Africa

TradeMark Africa (TMA) is a leading African Aid-for-Trade organisation founded in 2010, with the mission to grow intra-African trade and increase Africa’s share in global trade, while helping make trade more pro-poor and sustainable.

Footprint

TMA’s headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya. Operations are in: EAC Secretariat – Arusha, Burundi, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d I’voire, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somaliland, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Who We Are

TradeMark Africa (TMA) is a leading Aid-for-Trade organisation founded in 2010 to grow intra-African trade, increase Africa’s share in global trade, and make trade more pro-poor and sustainable. We operate on a not-for-profit basis, funded by a strong coalition of development partners including Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, France, the Gates Foundation, Ireland, the Mastercard Foundation, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom. TMA works closely with regional and continental institutions, national governments, the private sector, and civil society to unlock trade and investment opportunities across the continent.

Our Impact

Since 2010, TMA has played a major role in transforming trade and regional integration, especially in East Africa and the Horn. Our work has helped cut cargo transit times by 16.5% along the Northern Corridor (from Mombasa to Bujumbura), and reduced border crossing times by an average of 70% at select one stop border posts. As of 2025, TMA operates in 14 countries across East, West, and Southern Africa and the Horn, with expansion underway in six more.

To increase sustainable intra-African trade and exports to the rest of the world.

MISSION

Africa pioneering in sustainable growth as a pathway to prosperity for all Africans.

Vision

TradeMark Africa Timeline

TMA 1.0 – 2010 to 2017

Laying the Foundations

Our roots trace back to 2006, when the UK’s development agency (then DFID, now FCDO) commissioned a study on regional integration challenges in East Africa. The study revealed a disconnect between regional ambitions and national implementation. The solution? A new kind of organisation that could support both, aligning regional frameworks with national priorities. This gave rise to TradeMark East Africa in 2010, designed as a special-purpose vehicle to accelerate trade across the East African Community.

Our first programming focused on: physical access to markets - ports, access roads, and border infrastructure; a stronger trade environment through facilitating digital trade systems, harmonising standards, and fostering policies to enable investments; and improved competitiveness for exporters.

TMA 2.0 – 2017 to 2023

Scaling Up and Deepening Impact

In this phase, we sharpened our focus on reducing trade barriers and improving competitiveness, as well as ensuring that those at the bottom of the pyramid would also benefit from trade facilitation gains. We also expanded operations to include all EAC countries, plus Ethiopia, Somaliland, Djibouti, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia. In 2022, we established Trade Catalyst Africa (TCA), a catalytic finance arm that pilots commercially viable trade infrastructure and improves access to finance for SMEs. In 2023, our continental transition was marked by a rebrand from TMEA to TradeMark Africa, and the launch of our West Africa presence, starting with Ghana.

TMA 3.0 – 2023 to 2030

Accelerating the Trade Transformation

Our strategy for the decade ahead builds on hard-won experience, while addressing development challenges of the future. We are evolving to: unlock digital trade potential; enable African exporters to lead in low-carbon trade; tackle trade barriers that threaten food security; and drive more resilient, inclusive trade systems. The outcome will be larger trade volumes, more sustainable trade, and decent jobs created across Africa.