The East African Community (EAC) has undertaken a fast paced process of integration whose ultimate aim is to establish a political federation. To this end, a Customs Union (CU) was created in 2005, joined by Rwanda and Burundi in 2009, and the common market protocol (CM) came into force in 2010; although these are not yet fully functional. The main objective of this process is to increase trade and economic integration in the region in view of attaining higher economic growth and structural transformation, which should aid EAC countries to tackle poverty and achieve the millennium development goals.

Although there has been rapid progress towards integration of the East African Community (EAC), our research shows that there are still significant constraints to the implementation of the Customs Union (CU) and that the trade impacts associated with this process so far are small. The process of regional integration is important for the economic development of this region so it is imperative to redress the current barriers that exist in establishing the CU and common market (CM). Arguably, the small trade impacts found can be attributed to non-tariff barriers (NTBs), the small size of these economies and the deep specialization in primary commodities in trade with the rest of the world. This briefing uses evidence from research on the regional integration process of the EAC commissioned by TradeMark Africa and proposes some priority areas for policy intervention to address these challenges.

Information and analysis that can be used by policy makers, civil society and the private sector to advocate their concerns and interests with respect to regional integration.

This report aims at informing the readers, what are the facts about different social, economic, political, cultural and technological transitions currently taking place in East Africa?

Doing Business in the East Africa Community 2012 is a regional report drawing on the global Doing Business project and its database, as well as the findings of Doing Business 2012, the ninth in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulation and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 183 economies—from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe—and over time.

The objective of this paper is to reflect on how the historical lessons on the process of integration followed by the European Union (EU) can be used to shape and reflect about the process of economic integration that is been implemented in the East African Community (EAC). It will do so by providing a historical view of the process of common market (CM) and monetary union (MU), highlighting the main drivers and obstacles in both processes. It will focus on both the common market and the monetary union, because understanding the problems with the current monetary union in the Eurozone requires first understanding the institutional complexity and completeness required to implement the common market.

This is the 10th edition of the Doing Business report. First published in 2003 with 5 indicator sets measuring business regulation in 133 economies, the report has grown into an annual publication covering 11 indicator sets and 185 economies. In these 10 years Doing Business has recorded nearly 2,000 business regulation reforms in the areas covered by the indicators. And researchers have produced well over 1,000 articles in peer-reviewed journals using the data published by Doing Business—work that helps explore many of the key development questions of our time. Doing Business 2013 holds new information to inspire policy makers and researchers.

This report summarizes the findings and provides insights for communication planning to address identified gaps in information and benchmark awareness levels to measure success and impact of future communication programmes implemented by the various ministries of East African community and private sector and civil society.

Rwandan policy makers view the East African Community (EAC) as a regional economic block that offers its rapidly growing economy access to new markets and an opportunity to reduce the disadvantages of being landlocked. The search for better economic prospects via regional integration that Rwanda is seeking is captured in the country’s Vision 2020. In this road map, Rwanda seeks the potential advantages that regional and international economic integration brings to its economy as a key pillar of pursuing socio-economic transformation.

In many parts of the world in recent years, Doing Business data shows that there has been remarkable progress in removing some of the biggest bureaucratic obstacles to private sector activity. Yet small and medium-size enterprises still are subject to burdensome regulations and vague rules that are unevenly applied and that impose inefficiencies on the enterprise sector. This curtails the overall competitiveness of economies and their potential for creating jobs.