The East African Community (EAC) is poised to reap substantial benefits from enhanced trade integration across the African continent, particularly through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). A recent study, titled “Export Trade Potential of the East African Community under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) 2024,” indicates that the region's total export potential under the AfCFTA is estimated at approximately $1.9 billion, presenting a significant pathway for economic transformation. Leveraging the International Trade Centre (ITC)’s methodology, the research pinpoints high-potential export products within EAC member states. Kenya, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) exhibit the most significant export potential, while South Africa, Egypt, and Zambia are identified as key African markets for EAC goods. Specific sectoral opportunities highlighted include tea from Kenya, processed cereals from Burundi, mineral products from Tanzania, and metals from the DRC. Beyond these specific product opportunities, the AfCFTA offers broader advantages encompassing improved market access, increased investments, industrial expansion, and strengthened regional cooperation. It is also expected to stimulate growth in crucial EAC sectors such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, automotive, and logistics, while simultaneously accelerating digital trade and infrastructure development within the region. To fully realize this potential, the report recommends that EAC Member States prioritize investments in value addition to enhance product competitiveness, foster the development of industrial clusters, improve access to finance for businesses, and provide support for women traders to promote inclusive growth. Furthermore, the implementation of measures like export insurance schemes, duty remission programs, and advancements in digital...

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...

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...