The East African Business Council (EABC), in partnership with AGRA, is implementing a project titled “Promoting Intra-EAC Agri-Food Cross-Border Trade by Addressing Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) to Trade.”

The project aims to increase the participation of women and youth-led agri-food traders and boost the volume of agri-food trade—specifically maize, maize flour, rice, beans, soybeans, and horticultural products—across selected East African trade corridors.

This three-year initiative will empower approximately 2,440 youth and women-led cross-border traders in the region by addressing NTBs, thereby reducing the cost and time required to trade agri-food products. It will also enhance the capacity of youth-led agri-food traders by equipping them with knowledge on the use of trade facilitation instruments such as the Simplified Trade Regime (STR) and trade portals, and by establishing digital trade information booths at border points.

The partnership is supported by a grant of USD 399,900 from AGRA, with funding from the Mastercard Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The project is being implemented in collaboration with the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture (TCCIA), with EABC serving as the lead implementer.

About AGRA

AGRA is an African-led, farmer-centered, and partnerships-driven institution working to transform African agriculture from a subsistence model to commercially viable, smallholder farming that improves food security, nutrition, and income for millions of farmers in Africa.