Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 27th March 2026:- Speaking during the Capacity Building Workshop on export of services, organized by East African Business Council (EABC), in collaboration with East African Community (EAC) Secretariat and partnership with the European Union (EU) – GIZ Leveraging Integration Frameworks for Trade in Services (LIFTED) Project, EABC Executive Director represented by Mr. Adrian Njau, stated “Services are the fastest-growing component of our economies, contributing nearly 28-29% of Tanzania’s GDP and accounting for $6.9 billion in export earnings in 2025.”
The capacity-building workshop aims to equip Tanzanian firms with practical knowledge on developing export plans, understanding rules, regulations, and best practices to successfully export services across the EAC, African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA), and global markets.
Mr. Genya Charles from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, United Republic of Tanzania, stated that the Government is committed to promoting Tanzania’s services sector exports to boost economic growth.
Ms. Sophia Peter from the Tanzania Bankers Association stated that the training will enable their member firms to understand the regulations for providing banking services beyond Tanzania, particularly in regional markets such as East Africa.
SMEs often face barriers such as regulatory bottlenecks, limited market information, and insufficient export strategies. The EAC-EU-GIZ LIFTED project aims to strengthen the capacity of services firms to export with a particular focus on women- and youth-led enterprises, fostering an inclusive and resilient regional economy.
Limited trade data, divergent regulations, restricted market access, and barriers to services trade, such as licensing, taxation, investment policies, and fragmented permitting are key challenges in the EAC services market.
Under the EAC-EU-GIZ LIFTED project, EABC, in collaboration with Business Membership Organizations, co-developed the Trade in Services Policy Advocacy Agenda 2025–2030 to champion policy reforms and promote regulatory harmonization to boost services trade and position East Africa as a competitive hub for trade in services.
Services firms appealed to Government of EAC Parner State to harmonize of regulations, fully implement Annex V of the EAC Common Market Protocol, which commits Partner States to progressively liberalize services sectors, and expedited adoption of Annex VII on the mutual recognition of academic and professional qualifications.
Over two days, firms will learn the foundations of service exports, regulatory and compliance requirements, and market access strategies, while exploring regional expansion through partnerships, public and private sector opportunities such as tenders, and developing sector-specific export plans through interactive case studies and group work.
Under the EAC-EU-GIZ LIFTED project, EABC will also organize one-on-one coaching for services firms focusing on market access, regulatory frameworks, and export strategy development.
About LIFTED
LIFTED “Leveraging Integration Frameworks for Trade in Services and CSOs in the EAC” is a project jointly co-financed by the European Union EU, and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). LIFTED aims to increase EAC, continental and further bilateral trade with EU in Trade in Services and Civil Society engagement in the framework of the (AfCFTA) for people-centred EAC integration. It is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in collaboration with the EAC Secretariat.
