THE African Development Bank (AfDB), in collaboration with the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, has officially unveiled the $1.56 million EAC Trade Porta
l Enhancement Project. This ambitious initiative is designed to harness digital solutions, reduce trade impediments, and enable the EAC to fulfil its commitments under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement.
The EAC Trade Portal Enhancement Project will play a pivotal role in addressing the existing challenges related to trade information capacity, ICT systems, market data availability, internet connectivity, and overall transparency within the realm of trade and investment.
This multi-faceted, two-year project, funded by the Multilateral Cooperation Centre for Development Finance, took centre stage during the EAC Donor Round Table, which convened in Arusha, Tanzania on October 6, 2023.
Rachael Nsubuga, the Senior Trade Facilitation Officer at the African Development Bank, articulated the bank’s mission to mitigate trade barriers both regionally and globally. She emphasised that, ‘This project will complement other programs of the African Development Bank in the region by providing digitalised trade solutions and data to support investment climate and customs modernization work.’
The EAC Trade Portal Enhancement Project is in line with the African Development Bank’s strategic priority of integrating Africa as articulated in its Regional Integration Strategic Paper (RISP 2023-2027). It leverages strategic partnerships to enhance and integrate existing digital trade information facilitation and customs modernisation systems. This integration will facilitate the sharing of intra-regional and extra-regional market information, bolstering the EAC single window initiative and expanding trade with key partners such as the African Continental Free Trade Area and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, among others.
The potential of this project to serve as a model for the world is a significant aspect of its impact.
Dr Peter Matuki, the Secretary General of the East African Community Secretariat, expressed the EAC’s unwavering commitment to trade transparency and partnerships in advancing regional trade. He highlighted the importance of enabling infr
astructure and capacity building in fortifying the region’s trade ecosystem for sustainable socio-economic growth.
The enhanc
ed regional portal will be designed with a user-friendly and interactive interface. It will incorporate measurable online connectivity indicators that are linked to cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools, which in turn feed into other systems, including customs and the EAC’s non-tariff barriers monitoring system. Moreover, it will establish connections with national trade portals, ensuring real-time support for handling non-tariff barriers and calculating trade procedure costs.
The launch of the EAC Trade Portal Enhancement Project marks a significant step toward bolstering trade and economic cooperation in East Africa and holds great promise for fostering greater transparency and effi
ciency in the region’s trade activities.
