TMEA TradeMark East Africa - support to economic integration of East Africa Community

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) works closely with East African Community (EAC) institutions, national governments, the private sector and civil society organisations to increase trade by unlocking economic potential through: Increased physical access to markets, Enhanced trade environment and Improved business competitiveness. In East Africa economic development creates opportunities for further trade and investements but infrastructure and logistics remain a bottleneck for expedited development. For instance transportation costs are about 60-70 % more than inside the EU. Finnish support, which is non-earmarked genera support, to TMEA has been at 6 million euros during the last phase of the programme. Current support stretches to years 2017-2020 and will be approximately 9.8 million euros. In the earlier phase of the programme TMEA has achieved significant results for instance in reduction of average time of goods through ports, improving the conditions of women's border trade and enhancing trade environment through more effective us of legislation.