Côte d’Ivoire has marked ten years since the establishment of the Single Window Agency for Foreign Trade with a two-day event in Abidjan, reflecting on a decade of progress and setting new goals for the modernisation of trade procedures. The anniversary event for Côte d’Ivoire’s Guichet Unique du Commerce Extérieur (GUCE-CI) was held on 2 and 3 June 2025, with the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Souleymane Diarrassouba, serving as the chief guest. The forum brought together over 300 participants, including senior government officials, private sector actors, development partners, international organisations, and members of the media. It was supported by TradeMark Africa, which is partnering with GUCE-CI in ongoing efforts to reduce the time and cost of trade in Côte d’Ivoire and across the continent. Since its launch in July 2013, GUCE-CI has digitalised over 95% of Côte d’Ivoire’s trade-related processes, with the reforms lead to substantial improvements in efficiency, time and cost reductions for traders, agents and related government agencies. According to the agency, the time required to complete port procedures, for instance, has fallen from an average of ten days to fewer than three, with some transactions now processed in as little as 48 hours. By automating document submission and enabling real-time tracking of shipments and customs files, the platform has eliminated the need for in-person visits to multiple offices, allowing traders to interact with a single digital portal. As a result, businesses have recorded real benefits, including reduced warehousing and demurrage charges, lower transport and administrative...

Le 26 mai 2025, le ministère des Infrastructures et des Équipements de Djibouti et TradeMark Africa (TMA) ont coorganisé un atelier de validation à la frontière de Galafi afin d'examiner et de confirmer les priorités identifiées lors de l'évaluation des besoins pour la modernisation de Galafi et PK51. L'atelier, soutenu par l'Union européenne par l'intermédiaire de l'Agence française de développement (AFD), a réuni des représentants du gouvernement, des experts techniques et des parties prenantes locales. Il a marqué une étape importante vers l'amélioration des infrastructures commerciales le long du corridor Djibouti-Éthiopie. Galafi est l'un des principaux postes-frontières entre Djibouti et l'Éthiopie, avec un trafic quotidien compris entre 1 000 et 2 500 camions. Cependant, il est confronté à plusieurs défis, tels que l'instabilité de l'approvisionnement en électricité, l'absence d'accès à l'eau potable, le manque de places de stationnement et la médiocrité des installations pour le personnel et les commerçants. PK51, situé à 51 kilomètres de la ville de Djibouti, se trouve dans une zone logistique primaire, mais manque également de routes, de systèmes de drainage et de services de base adéquats. Ces problèmes ralentissent le commerce, augmentent les coûts de transport et réduisent les opportunités pour les entreprises et les communautés le long du corridor. Lors de l'atelier, les participants ont validé les mesures visant à améliorer les deux postes-frontières. Il s'agit notamment de construire un poste-frontière unique (OSBP) à Galafi afin d'accélérer les procédures de dédouanement et d'améliorer la coordination entre les agences frontalières. Le plan vise également à...

  On 26th May 2025, Djibouti’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Equipment, alongside TradeMark Africa (TMA), co-hosted a pivotal validation workshop at Galafi Border. The workshop’s primary aim was to review and confirm the priorities identified during a needs assessment for upgrading both Galafi and PK51. Supported by the European Union through the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the event gathered government officials, technical experts, and local stakeholders, marking a significant stride towards enhancing trade infrastructure along the crucial Djibouti–Ethiopia corridor. Galafi, a primary border post connecting Djibouti and Ethiopia, witnesses substantial daily traffic, handling between 1,000 and 2,500 trucks. However, it grapples with numerous challenges, including unreliable electricity, a lack of clean water, limited parking facilities, and substandard amenities for both staff and traders. Similarly, PK51, located 51 kilometres from Djibouti city within a key logistics zone, suffers from inadequate roads, poor drainage, and a scarcity of basic services. These issues collectively impede trade, inflate transport costs, and diminish economic opportunities for businesses and communities reliant on the corridor. During the workshop, participants ratified a series of actions aimed at improving both border points. Key among these is the construction of a One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) at Galafi, designed to accelerate clearance processes and foster better coordination among border agencies. The plan also encompasses improvements to safety, environmental conditions, and working environments for border personnel and users. These upgrades align seamlessly with Djibouti’s Vision 2035, which seeks to position the country as a leading regional trade and logistics hub. The...

As developing countries strive to implement the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), the question of funding—how to mobilise it, how to target it, and how to sustain it—remains at the heart of national conversations. This issue took centre stage during a recent WTO training programme for National Trade Facilitation Committees (NTFCs), where experts from the World Bank and TradeMark Africa (TMA) shared pragmatic approaches to fundraising and resource mobilisation. While the session opened with an overview of traditional funding mechanisms from William Gain, Head of the World Bank’s Trade Facilitation Support Program, a strong regional perspective came from TMA’s Director of Strategy and Partnerships, Anthe Vrijlandt, who joined participants virtually from Nairobi. TMA’s experience, she explained, reveals a clear trend: donors and countries are looking beyond one-off grants and towards smarter, more diversified, and more sustainable financing strategies. TMA’s work across Africa is guided by six core pillars: trade policy and regulatory reform; standards and SPS measures; digital trade; physical infrastructure; green trade; and inclusive trade. These pillars translate into highly targeted interventions, from building one-stop border posts to supporting value chains such as mango or fish exports through improved SPS compliance. Vrijlandt was emphatic that establishing a digital platform is not an end in itself. “A trade portal is meaningless if customs officials don’t understand it, or if traders are not aware of their rights,” she said. For TMA, success means reducing time and cost—measured in concrete terms.1 Independent evaluations have, for instance, shown that TMA’s programmes...

By Lilian Mwai and Andrew Edewa In 2024, Kenya’s fresh vegetable exports to the European Union (EU) declined sharply by 54.7 percent, from 164,100 tonnes to 74,300 tonnes. This reduction in volume led to a corresponding drop in export earnings from Sh50.9 billion to Sh23.4 billion. The decline is largely attributable to the enforcement of stricter EU pesticide regulations, particularly following amendments to Regulation (EC) No. 396/2005 of the EU parliament, which delisted over 30 commonly used active substances, severely limiting farmers’ options for crop protection. This downturn represents more than a market contraction; it has triggered significant socio-economic disruption.Many rural households that relied on horticulture for income, food security, and education now face job losses, rising debt burdens, and a retreat from agricultural livelihoods. Nonetheless, Kenya’s horticultural sector retains vast potential if it can meet evolving global compliance demands. From the fertile counties of Makueni and Machakos to the slopes of Murang’a, farmers are producing high-value crops including avocados, mangoes, snow peas and French beans. Yet much of this produce never makes it to market. Instead, it perishes at farm level, rots in transit, or is turned away at ports of entry for failing to meet global sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards. In Makueni County alone, 30 to 40 percent of fresh produce is lost due to weak aggregation, inconsistent grading and inadequate storage. So, while volumes of production remain high, the system to deliver this product in high value global markets is lacking. The regulatory landscape is evolving...

A joint delegation from TradeMark Africa (TMA), Mastercard Foundation, and the International Trade Centre (ITC) recently visited a young woman-led horticultural export business in Rwamagana, Rwanda. This visit underscored their collective commitment to helping Rwandan youth and women-led horticultural enterprises achieve significant success in export markets. The delegation gained valuable insights into ongoing interventions and their emerging impact, all designed to enhance value addition, improve market access, and create meaningful employment opportunities for young people, particularly young women, within Rwanda's expanding horticultural sector. The host for this visit was RAI Green Stalks Ltd, an enterprise participating in the Value-added Initiative to Boost Employment (VIBE). VIBE is a collaborative effort between TMA and ITC, in partnership with Mastercard Foundation. RAI Green Stalks Ltd is a key exporter of fresh produce, including chillies, avocados, French beans, plantains, and passion fruits, to international destinations like the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United Arab Emirates. Allen Umulisa, founder and CEO of RAI Green Stalks Ltd, noted that the increasing demand for her company's products has outpaced its internal production capacity. To address this, the enterprise collaborates with youth-owned cooperatives and aggregates supply, enabling it to meet larger export volumes while upholding the stringent quality standards demanded by international buyers. This approach of sourcing products from local cooperatives and smallholder farmers, many of whom are women and young people, generates economic opportunities for these individuals, thereby fostering a positive ripple effect on their livelihoods. The delegation also toured several of the enterprise's operational...

The Government of Uganda has affirmed its commitment to supporting efforts for transforming the country’s fisheries sector through a stronger focus on commercialisation, sustainability and inclusive growth. Uganda’s Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) Permanent Secretary, Maj. Gen (Rtd). David Kasura made the remarks during a meeting with representatives of the AfCFTA Private Sector Development Unit (AfCFTA-PSU) and TradeMark Africa. The two organisations, alongside Mastercard Foundation, are partnering on the 4-year Women and Youth Economic Empowerment in Fisheries Programme, which is designed to unlock economic opportunities across the fisheries which chains.  The TradeMark Africa was represented by Anataria Uwamariya, Director for Business Competitiveness and George Wamae, Programme Manager, while the AfCFTA-PSU was represented by Komla Bissi, Agriculture Lead and Florence Sinyangwe, Women, Youth and MSMEs Lead. Maj. Gen (Rtd). Kasura welcomed the initiative, highlighting that the fisheries sector remains one of the most important economic players in Uganda after coffee, contributing significantly to national food security and employment. However, he underscored that the core challenge lies not in trade but in production, emphasising the urgent need to scale up productivity through responsible practices and fishing technologies that safeguard lake ecosystems. “The lakes are dying gradually due to increased human activities such as pollution and overfishing,” he noted stressing the urgent need to improve productivity by promoting responsible fishing practices, deploying eco-friendly technologies and increasing investments in sustainable aquaculture.  “If you do not support the aspirations of young people, who constitute about 78% of the Ugandan population and who are...

Reflections from the EU-Kenya Business Forum 2025  At this week’s EU-Kenya Business Forum in Nairobi, TMA’s Director for Digital Trade, Erick Sirali, led a conversation on how digitalisation is transforming customs and trade facilitation. There was an acknowledgement that while Africa has made progress in digitalisation, the work ahead is considerable. We are talking, fragmented systems, redundant processes, and limited data-sharing that continue to hold us back. Africa’s vision for seamless cross-border trade, No Stop Borders, future, that featured heavily in TMA’s Africa Trade Development Forum in Kigali in December 2024, demands fast-tracked reforms that support cross-border data flows and data governance. A compelling real-life example was presented by Billy Ngumi of KenTrade who painted a picture of how things used to be at Moyale, the Kenya–Ethiopia border before the Kenya National Electronic Single Window was implemented. He said that, clearing agents in Moyale would crisscross Marsabit County, collecting customs documents, then travel the 777 kilometres to Nairobi, which fyi, is an 11-hour one-way trip, just to submit paperwork, make payments and get approvals. Then, they’d return to Moyale to deliver the documents to traders. The entire cycle could take over a week, just to move goods from Ethiopia into Kenya. But now, with Kenya National Single Window System, agents can apply, pay and receive approvals online. What once took days, and a road trip now takes minutes and a few clicks. Trade moves faster. Paperwork is instant. And a trader in Moyale doesn’t have to wait for someone to make a cross-country trip to Nairobi. In the real life...

By Ben Mbindah, Safeguarding and Project Risk Officer, TradeMark Africa The disclosure of financial performance of organisations has always been an important tradition to informing investor decision-making. However, in recent years, the additional transparency around the environmental and social impacts for organisations has gained momentum. This shift reflects a growing recognition among companies and institutions globally of the value of environmental safeguards and social responsibility, particularly within the framework of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting. ESG reporting involves communicating a company’s performance and activities in relation to environmental considerations such as climate change, resource utilisation, and pollution. The social aspects entail human rights, labour practices, and community engagement; while governance encompasses corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and ethical business conduct. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected and driven by information and artificial intelligence, transparency has taken on a prominent role. The integration of ESG reporting with traditional financial disclosures is becoming a necessity rather than an option. The introduction of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) by the European Union (EU), which mandates ESG disclosures from both EU-based and some non-EU companies starting from the 2024–2025 financial year, has further highlighted the urgency for organisations to align with such evolving expectations. This regulatory development signals a broader shift in how sustainability is integrated into organisational strategy and reporting. The inclusion of ESG considerations in investment decision-making is not only essential in advancing social and environmental objectives but also proving beneficial to financial performance of organisations. It contributes to building a...

Download the Publication Here  Over the past two decades, non-tariff barriers (NTBs) have emerged as the most persistent and complex challenge to international trade, with their prevalence steadily rising across the world. The East African Community (EAC) has not been immune to this trend, with NTBs continuing to evolve in form and scope, creating significant obstacles to the seamless flow of goods and services across the region. In 2021 alone, NTBs reported for the first time within the EAC accounted for over four percent of the total existing barriers, underscoring the enormity of the problem. In response to this, EAC Partner States have taken steps to address these trade impediments, including the enactment of the EAC Elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers Act, 2017. This legislation provides a structured legal framework for monitoring and resolving NTBs, supported by tools such as the Time-Bound Programme for NTBs elimination and various directives, regulations, and recommendations issued by the EAC Council of Ministers. Despite these efforts, the region has faced a longstanding challenge in quantifying the actual impact of NTBs and, more importantly, the benefits of their removal. Without this data, it is difficult to prioritise interventions and allocate resources effectively. To address this gap, a recent study has developed a model designed to estimate the impact of NTBs within the EAC, with a specific focus on those arising along the Northern and Central transport corridors. The study reviewed existing techniques for measuring the impacts of NTBs, identified specific NTBs in the region responsive to...