TradeMark Africa (TMA), formerly TradeMark East Africa, is an Aid-for-Trade organisation that was established in 2010, with the aim of growing prosperity through increased trade. TMA operates on a not-for-profit basis and is funded by: Belgium, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. TMA works closely with regional intergovernmental organisations, including the African Union (AU), the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, the East Africa Community (EAC), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU), national Governments, the private sector and civil society organisations.
The first two strategic periods of TMA (2010-2023) have contributed to substantial gains for   trade and regional integration in East Africa and the Horn of Africa in terms of decreased cargo transit times (reduction of 16.5% on the Northern Corridor from Mombasa to Bujumbura), improved border efficiency (the time to cross targeted one stop border posts has been reduced by an average of 70%), and reduced barriers to trade. The continental-wide shift and rebrand to TMA was officially launched in West Africa in January 2023, with Ghana being the first country of operations in the region.
While continuing to leverage our core expertise in trade facilitation, we will evolve our focus to harness the potential of digitalisation, support African exporters to pioneer low carbon trade, address the core trade factors behind food security and promote inclusive trade. By increasing trade volumes, and enhancing the sustainability and inclusiveness of trade, we aim to deliver large-scale job creation, poverty reduction and enhanced economic growth.
In 2022, TMA set up a catalytic finance fund, Trade Catalyst Africa (TCA), that will pilot commercially viable projects for creating trade infrastructure (both physical and digital) as well as increasing access to Trade Finance for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
TMA’s headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya. Operations and offices are in: EAC Secretariat – Arusha, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somaliland, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
To increase sustainable and inclusive intra-African trade and exports to the rest of the world.
Africa pioneering in sustainable and inclusive growth as a pathway to prosperity for all Africans.
We are partner centric, flexible and responsive to our stakeholder needs.
We embody diversity, maintain respectful relationships with our employees and partners and promote equal opportunity for all.
We empower our employees and partners to create sustainable solutions.
We are transparent, honest and ethical at all times.
We are enthusiastic in delivering excellence in everything we do.
We focus on improving the livelihoods of Africans by implementing effective and efficient interventions.
TMA’s theory of change recognises that barriers to trade raise the costs of doing business, thus reducing demand for imports and exports within the region, and between the region and the world. Targeted interventions in select key areas of trade can reduce these costs.
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