Regional lobbies urge end to NTBs

East African Community (EAC) member states have been urged to remove non-tariff barriers(NTBs) hindering youth and women-led businesses.

The calls were made at a recent session of the East Africa Cross-Border Trader Associations (CBTAs) Forum on Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs).

The event was organised by the East African Business Council (EABC) in partnership with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

Nega Wubeneh, head of markets and trade at AGRA, said AGRA research reveals young agri-food traders frequently face NTBs such as sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) food safety standards, certificates of origin, import levies and road user charges in some countries.

He emphasised the crucial role of youth and CBTAs in reporting and advocating for NTB elimination. “As AGRA, we are committed to catalysing food systems transformation to improve food and nutrition security through investments in mutual recognition agreements (MRAs), the regional food balance sheet, trade scorecard, and market information systems,” said Mr Wubeneh.

Mr Frank Dafa, manager for trade in goods at EABC, said Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), largely driven by women and youth form the backbone of the EAC economy, contributing an estimated 70 percent to the region’s GDP and providing livelihoods to 88 percent of its population. “The EAC Simplified Trade Regime (STR) has eased access to the simplified certificate of origin for consignments below $2,000 (Sh258,000),” said Mr Dafa.

“However, many traders—especially women and youth—continue to face challenges in meeting technical and sanitary requirements, notably due to costly and duplicative certification processes.”

He said now there is an online NTB complaints system where a trader can report a case when they come across it.

Sakina Usengimana, a youth cross-border trader from Rwanda and chairperson of Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness (RYAF), said the youth are central partners in East Africa’s trade future.

However, non-tariff barriers such as duplicated certification requirements, bribery demands, unclear trade documentation, and inconsistent standards across EAC countries discourage many youth-led businesses from scaling regionally.

“I call for the simplification of trade information by even putting it in various languages, including vernacular ones. There is a need to harmonise standards so that a standard in Rwanda will be acceptable in Kenya,” said Usengimana, who owns Afri Foods Ltd. She said access to credit is also a challenge, where many banks demand collateral, which they do not have as women and youth.