USAID and TradeMark Africa Launch Grant with East African Business Council to Boost AfCFTA Trade Opportunities

Nairobi, Kenya, 11^th September 2024 — A new $508,000 partnership between USAID, TradeMark Africa (TMA), and the East African Business Council (EABC) will boost the trading potential of 220 private sector enterprises including Small and Medium Enterprises and 3000 farmers, processors and private proprietors within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) – the world’s largest free trade area, encompassing 55 African Union countries.

According to a study undertaken by TMA and the East Africa Community (EAC) Secretariat the total trade potential of the EAC in continental free trade area is estimated at $1.9 billion. Kenya has the largest share of this potential ($ 705.5 million) followed by Tanzania ($594 million), the DRC ($342 million), Uganda ($178.2 million), Rwanda ($36.1 million) and Burundi ($1.3 million).

The three-year partnership funded by the USAID Economic Recovery and Reform Activity (USAID-ERRA) will focus on reducing trade constraints, especially for high-potential agricultural exports: tea, mate, coffee, rice, vegetables, staple foods, cotton, textiles, and garments. EABC will also work to resolve 12 high-impact non-tariff barriers, facilitate trade deals through Business-to-Business market linkages and increase awareness of market opportunities under the AfCFTA.

David Rogers, Deputy Director, USAID Kenya and East Africa said, “This initiative underscores the need for increased collaboration across the region and sustained engagement with policymakers and the private sector on AfCFTA-related matters. “David Beer, CEO at TMA, emphasized: “Private-sector action is critical to ensure a unified message from businesses to policymakers at national, regional, and continental levels.”

Adrian Njau, Ag. Executive Director at EABC, added: “Together, we will enable women, youth, SMEs, and other value chain actors to access trade policy instruments and participate in intra-Africa trade.” To this end, the initiative will engage key stakeholders, including the East African Women in Business Platform (EAWiBP), the East African Sub-Regional Support Initiative for Advancement of Women (EASSI), and YouLead.