EABC Receives a Grant of 862,000 US Dollars from TradeMark East Africa

The 24^th October 2011 marked the signing of a 2 year grant agreement and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the East African Business Council and TradeMark East Africa, at a ceremony held at the Mount Meru Hotel in Arusha. The grant , worth over USD 862,000 and the MoU, worth over USD 1M is meant to build EABC’s institutional and advocacy capacity, to enable it represent the private sector in the region more effectively.

This support is in recognition of the important role of the private sector as the engine of EAC’s integration; and the role of EABC in providing a platform through which the business community can present its concerns at the regional level, with a view to creating a more conducive business environment.

Institutionally, the support will include key technical staff, enhanced coordination between EABC and its Members at regional and national levels and improved communication. In terms of advocacy, the support includes funds for research ensure that the private sector engages the EAC policy makers with evidence based policy options. Additionally, it will include establishment of regional platforms across issues and sector, aimed at enhancing advocacy and building networks across the region.

Speaking from Arusha, Agatha Nderitu, the Executive Director said, “With this support, EABC will be a more competent advocate of the EAC private sector in ensuring that the opportunities wrought by the Common Market are fully utilized by the EAC private sector, which will result in increased trade and investment in and from the EAC; and ultimately, increased economic growth and improved standards of living for the EAC citizens.”

EABC Partnership with Trademark East Africa

Under the support of TMEA, the establishment of sector/issue platforms is based on the need to bring together key stakeholders around a given sector or thematic issue with a view to improving advocacy. Over the duration of the project the partnership seeks to establish six platforms with at least 3 established in 2011 and another 3 in 2012 including:-

a) Financial Services Platform– Under the Common Market protocol with the free movement of services, the financial services being a sub-set and free movement of capital, there is need for private sector to respond to various challenges that include disparate financial, banking, insurance etc policies and regulations; cross border movement of capital; and all other issues related to insurance; stock exchange; microfinance and investment. Additionally, this platform will be key in guiding private sector contributions to the on-going negotiations for an EAC Monetary Union Protocol.

b) Platform for Women Entrepreneurs – in the past, the gender perspective of EAC Trade has not received due attention, despite women being major players especially at the SME and informal sector level. This platform will address issues particular to women entrepreneurs including a trade policy that is engendered; access to finance, provision of simplified EAC integration information and capacity building for respective BMOs.

c) Regional Standards Platform – Standards remain a key impediment to intra-EAC trade; driven by such issues like lack of mutual recognition of standards despite an EAC SQMT Act; non completion of the EAC SPS Protocol; lack of harmonization of EAC Standards (and also lack of prioritization of standards needing harmonization); lack of private sector involvement in standards development; accreditation issues, among others. This platform will strategically focus on this area to improve the intra-EAC trade engagements.

d) Tourism Platform – Tourism is the 2^nd highest contributor to EAC’s GDP. Yet, there has been no comprehensive focus on key issues such as EAC as a single tourist destination and one EAC tourist visa; liberalization of the tourism sector including hotels grading; tour agencies and operators; tourist guide services and free movement of natural persons especially for tourism purposes among others.

e) Labour Issue Platform – with the free movement of labour under the EAC Common Market, this platform will ensure that the private sector responds appropriately to issues related to labour mobility including but not limited to review of national labour laws and their harmonization regionally; harmonization of social security that must attend to free movement of employees and harmonization of qualifications, among others.
f) Professional Services Platform – this platform will address among other issues review and harmonization of regulations and laws dealing with licensing; qualifications requirements to enable free movement of professional services. Additionally, the EAC region needs to input into the on-going EPA technical standards. The private sector should input in the policy formulations and implementation evaluation. Additionally, EAC is negotiating EPA with EU, where trade in services is featuring. This platform will ensure that private sector inputs into this process and others.

With the support from Trademark East Africa, EABC is set to see:-

• Improved coordination and collaboration between EABC and business management organizations and issue/sector based Platforms
• Improved dialogue between EABC and its members on one hand and EABC and EAC Secretariat, EALA, Council of Ministers and other institutions.
• Increased Membership to EABC from sectors targeted; based on support towards addressing issues affecting them through policy dialogue.
• Better coordination in advocacy with institutions pursuing similar goals – commonality of message leads to easier and faster acceptance of policy proposals.
• Speedier and smoother implementation of the EAC Common Market Protocol through addressing the services, capital and labour related issues of the Protocol.
• More targeted research to improve advocacy and generate the much needed evidence to back policy proposals that will lead to new policies or change in existing policies in order to improve the business environment at regional and national levels.