Zanzibar, March 29, 2018: The regulation activities of food, drug, cosmetics and medical devices in Zanzibar will now be done online. So, will be the issuance of import and export permits for the said goods. This follows the roll out of the Zanzibar Food and Drug Agency e-portal, an online system that digitizes all processes related to the food and drug regulatory services in Zanzibar. TradeMark Africa funded the design and roll out of the e-portal with a grant of US$ 150,000. The e-portal will ease the administration and management of regulatory services and documents issued by Zanzibar Food and Drug Agency, including issuance of import and export permits, registration of foods, drugs, cosmetics and medical device, registration of good manufacturing practice certification, premise registration and all import and export inspection processes. The portal will ease trade document verifications and improve health safety inspections. It is expected that with the system in place, the average time taken to acquire import and export certificate will reduce by 95%, while the costs associated with acquiring the import/export certificate will reduce by 80%. Other benefits include enhanced transparency, integrity and accountability as the online systems collate information, making it possible to analyze data and make informed decision as well as reduce human contact. The portal has been linked to the East Africa Community Medicines Regulatory Harmonization Platform. This will enhance ZFDA’s partnership and information sharing with other National Medicines and Regulatory Authorities allowing it to share as well as access information related to...

This follows the roll out and launch of Rwanda trade portal (www.rwandatrade.rw) Rwanda’s trade portal(www.rwandatrade.rw) will ensure international trade efficiency It will take a trader a maximum of 5 minutes to access summarized information on international trade procedures in Rwanda. Kigali, 29th March, 2018: Rwanda Revenue Authority in partnership with Trademark East Africa launches The Rwanda Trade Portal. The Rwanda Trade Information Portal is a fulfillment of the government of Rwanda’s obligations under the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), to which Rwanda is a signatory. The Agreement obliges governments to be transparent and to provide practical guides to trade formalities. As a result, the online platform gives importers and exporters quick access to step-by-step guides on trade-related procedures (licenses, permits and clearance processes). For each step, the system shows the result of the step, who to see (contact details), what to bring (access to documents and forms), what to pay, why the step is obligatory (access to legal justification), how long it takes and who to complain to in case of a problem (the recourse). This forms part of an effort to improve the efficiency of trade in and out of Rwanda by reducing the time needed to import goods by 47% and time required to export by 91%. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded the development and roll out of the portal with US$498,000. UNCTAD and ITC provided technical assistance and Rwanda Revenue Authority is hosting and operating this portal. Traders...

TradeMark Africa (TMA) will support interventions in Rwanda for an additional period of 6 years with an initial budget of US$ 53 Million. Kigali, March 20th, 2018: TradeMark Africa and the Government of Rwanda signed an MOU extending their partnership to 2023. In the MOU, the two have committed to support interventions that will lead to creation of at least 100,000 jobs in Rwanda, poverty reduction and increase trade for Rwanda. The MOU marks the commencement of TMA’s second phase of interventions which will be implemented between 2018-2023 and is valued at US$ 53 Million of which US$ 45 million has been contributed by the Belgium, UK and USA governments through their development agencies. The remaining US$ 8 Million to be mobilised within the next 2 years in partnership with other development partners. Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Amb. Claver Gatete, represented the Government of Rwanda. TMA was represented by its CEO, Frank Matsaert. TMA, an aid-for-trade organisation working in reducing barriers to trade in East Africa and improving business competitiveness, first signed an MOU with the Rwanda government in 2011. Within this, the organisation partnered with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the former Ministry of EAC Affairs, Rwanda Development Board, Rwanda Revenue Authority, Rwanda Standards Board, Private Sector Federation, Profemmes Twese Hamwe among others to facilitate infrastructure projects, ICT projects, capacity building, export development projects among others. In its second phase, TMA commits to work with Government and private partners to support construction of harbour facilities...

Busia, February 24th, 2018: H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya and H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni President of the Republic of Uganda joined by Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko, East African Community Secretary General, officially launched the Busia One Stop Border Post (OSBP) located on the Kenya/Uganda border, today. Construction of the Busia OSBP was carried out with funding of US$11.7million from the United Kingdom through the Department for International Development (DFID) while the systems and other related soft infrastructure equivalent to US$1.2million was funded by Global Affairs, Canada. The OSBP investment includes office buildings, roads and parking yards, cargo verification bays, scanner shed, passenger sheds, targeting booths, warehouse and canopies, ICT networks and hardware, furniture, and institutional support to the border agencies. The OSBP ensures effective border control mechanisms are in place. It will boost trade by cutting the time taken to clear goods between the two nations, thus contributing to a reduction in transport cost, whilst increasing volumes of transhipment cargo through the Central Corridor. It is expected that time to cross the border will reduce by at least a third. An OSBP is a “one stop” form of border crossing point jointly managed by adjoining Partner States, where multiple border agencies cooperate and collaborate with each other, and effectively coordinate their activities to maximise their operational efficiency. OSBP arrangement brings together under one roof, all the Government agencies performing border crossing controls procedures, doing away with need for motorised traffic and persons to undergo clearance twice at...

Nairobi – January 22nd, 2018 – Visiting UK Secretary for International Development, Penny Mordaunt has announced a new package of support to TradeMark Africa for implementation of its Strategy2. The UK is significantly scaling up its support to trade and regional integration across East Africa, now providing a total of £ 211m to the second phase of TradeMark Africa. This will increase sustainable and shared prosperity in East Africa and specifically: invest in improving the efficiency and capacity of transport, logistics and trade infrastructure at key port and border points; invest in systems to improve trading standards, reduce non-tariff barriers and enhance transparency in trade processes; improve the regulatory and policy environment for trade; and support private sector advocacy for trade competitiveness, the export capacity of East African businesses and the greater participation of women and small and growing businesses in trade. The UK’s Secretary for International Development, Penny Mordaunt made the announcement during her first official visit to Kenya as International Development Secretary, last week. During her 2-day visit Ms. Mordaunt toured programmes receiving UK aid including a cash transfer programme in Marsabit and Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) customs modernisation programmes in Nairobi.At KRA Mordaunt toured the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking system (RECTs) command centre and the new integrated Customs Management system (iCMS). Mordaunt was impressed that already, the first phase of the custom modernisation programme has reduced customs clearance time – from an average of nine to two days – consequently reducing cost of trading across the region....

Products will now find it easier to enter and compete in the international market following the accreditation of Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) byDutch Accreditation Council (RVA), an internationally recognised standards accreditation body. The news was announced today during the official launch of ‘Zamukana Ubuziranenge’, a new program that will assist the local industry to reach the desired quality and safety performance; and build a strong quality and safety culture in Rwandan SMEs through creation of awareness. The programme, developed in conjunction with Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM) will assist Small and Medium Enterprises to be conversant with quality requirements contained in standards, thus easing standards implementation in SMEs towards certification. The international accreditation of Hazard Analysis and RS 184 Critical Control Points (HACCP) and ISO 22000 Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) certification schemes means that the European and worldwide market will trust the quality of products with the RSB mark of quality as the accreditation by RVA increases credibility of the services by RSB hence enabling the Made in Rwanda Food products with RSB mark of quality to be internationally recognized. Honourable Vincent Munyeshyaka, Minister of Trade and Industry presided over the event. He said: “We congratulate RSB upon this tremendous achievement as it unlocks Rwanda’s opportunities to confidently trade on global markets. The accreditation, launched standards and the Zamukana Ubuziranenge program give us a strong foundation to sustainably build industry’s capacity in standards compliance, which will then fast-track the trail to certification of products and services. We urge...

December 6th, 2017 – Norway on Wednesday December 6th granted 50 million Norwegian Kroners (equivalent to 13.4 billion Tanzanian shillings) to TradeMark Africa (TMA) to support its work in enhancing trade across the East African Community to increase prosperity in the region. The agreement was signed by the Norwegian Ambassador to Tanzania, Her Excellency Hanne-Marie Kaarstad and Ali Mufuruki, Board Chair of TradeMark Africa. Witnessing the signing was the Head of Cooperation at the Norwegian Embassy, Trygve Bendiksby and John Ulanga, Country Director, TMA Tanzania. Norway’s strategy for development cooperation and action plan for aid for trade put more emphasis on the development of trade and regional economic integration. The Norwegian government believes that supporting increased trade in the region in combination with assistance to the private sector will accelerate economic growth and jobs, with the goal of poverty reduction. Norwegian Ambassador to Tanzania, HE Hanne-Marie Kaarstad said: “TradeMark Africa is a new partner of the Norwegian Embassy. Over the last six years, the Embassy has watched with great interest as TradeMark Africa has carried out its important and challenging work. With ambitious goals and large programmes in six East African countries, TradeMark Africa has taken on the task of breaking down barriers to trade in the region. The results that TradeMark Africa have delivered so far are impressive. We look forward to be an active partner.” TradeMark Africa is making a huge difference to reducing the high barriers to trade in East Africa.Since starting its operations in Tanzania in...

It will take a trader a maximum of 5 minutes to access summarised information on international trade procedures in Kenya. Nairobi, Kenya, November 22nd, 2017 – Traders in Kenya stand to benefit from increased efficiency following launch of the Information for Trade in Kenya web portal (infotradekenya.go.ke), which has consolidated more than 120 documents and procedures required for import and export business in Kenya on one online platform. The portal is estimated to serve at least 1.5 million users per month and consolidates 73 documents under exports, 52 under imports and one under transits (cross border trade) thus ensuring a shorter period in the export and import processes.  Completion and launch of the information portal makes Kenya the first country in the East Africa Community (EAC) to fulfil Article 1 of WTO Trade Facilitation agreement which requires member states to publish their trade procedures online, displaying them step-by-step, with contact information on enquiry points, access to forms and other required documents and all relevant trade and customs laws. Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) implemented the portal with financial support of approx. US$ 498, 000 from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through TradeMark Africa (TMA). United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) provided technical assistance. Presiding over the launch, the National Treasury Principal Secretary, Dr. Kamau Thugge said, “The InfoTrade Kenya portal is part of the Government’s initiative to facilitate trade in line with the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation, to which Kenya is a signatory...

Mutukula, November 9th, 2017:  H.E. John Pombe Magufuli, President of the United Republic of Tanzania and H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni President of the Republic of Uganda joined by Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko, East African Community Secretary General, officially launched Mutukula One Stop Border Post (OSBP) located on the Uganda/Tanzania border, today. Construction of the Mutukula OSBP was carried out with funding of US$11.7million from the United Kingdom through the Department for International Development (DFID) while the systems and other related soft infrastructure equivalent to US$1.2million was funded by the Government of Canada, through Global Affairs, Canada. The OSBP investment includes office buildings, roads and parking yards, cargo verification bays, scanner shed, passenger sheds, targeting booths, warehouse and canopies, ICT networks and hardware, furniture, and institutional support to the border agencies. The OSBP ensures effective border control mechanisms are in place. It will boost trade by cutting the time taken to clear goods between the two nations, thus contributing to a reduction in transport cost, whilst increasing volumes of transhipment cargo through the Central Corridor. It is expected that time to cross the border will reduce by at least a third. An OSBP is a “one stop” form of border crossing point jointly managed by adjoining Partner States, where multiple border agencies cooperate and collaborate with each other, and effectively coordinate their activities to maximise their operational efficiency. OSBP arrangement brings together under one roof, all the Government agencies performing border crossing controls procedures, doing away with need for motorised traffic and...

AEO programme in its 2nd $300k Project has been financed by USAID Rwanda. The AEO programme at regional level started in 2008 and ended in 2013 under pilot Phase I. 13 Operators were accredited of which 3 are Rwandans. Project is part of broader trade facilitation measures that includes the electronic single window, regional cargo tracking system and single customs territory. Kigali, Rwanda, 28th September 2017 - Rwanda revenue Authority (RRA) have signed MOU’s and awarded certificates of recognition to twenty-two (22) companies in Rwanda who have been granted special customs status as Authorized Economic Operators (AEO). The event was witnessed by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Hon. Vincent Munyeshyaka, Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) Commissioner General, Richard Tusabe, Acting USAID Mission Director Leslie Marbury, TradeMark Africa (TMA) Country Director, Patience Mutesi, Private Sector Federation Chairman Benjamin Gasamagera and several business leaders. Speaking at the recognition ceremony, Minister of Trade and Industry, Hon. Vincent Munyeshyaka commended the companies that had attained the special status. “They have consistently demonstrated a very high commitment to comply with customs regulations and security procedures” he said. “An AEO certified company for example is not subject to physical inspections, queuing or immediate audits” The AEO concept is part of a broader compliance strategy to reward compliant traders with simplification benefits.  This reward and encourages compliance and stimulates foreign trade which contributes to economic growth at the national and regional levels. An AEO in Rwanda is an individual, a business entity or government department that is involved in international trade and is duly authorized by the Commissioner of...