TradeMark unveils Uganda, DRC cross border trade programme

____________

TradeMark Africa has launched a new initiative aimed at improving trade, peace and economic resilience along Uganda’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The programme is supported by Euros 10 million (about sh41.4b) in funding from the European Union (EU) through its delegations in both countries.

TradeMark Africa will implement one component of the programme focused on trade infrastructure and capacity building, while the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) will run a separate but complementary stream focusing on social cohesion and security.

Speaking at the launch of the Uganda-DRC Peaceful and Resilient Borderlands Programme, TradeMark Africa’s Country Director for Uganda and South Sudan, Anna Nambooze, said the initiative will support cross-border communities through improved trade infrastructure, skills training and efforts to formalise trade, much of which remains informal and unrecorded.

“With DRC's entry into the East African Community (EAC) in 2022, the regional market now spans over 300 million people, offering unprecedented opportunities for integration, cooperation, and policy harmonisation. Uganda remains a crucial trade gateway into DRC and the broader region,” she said.

The programme builds on more than 14 years of trade facilitation work by TradeMark Africa in Uganda and the Great Lakes region. Previous investments include the development and upgrading of seven One Stop Border Posts, including key sites at Goli-Mahagi and Ntoroko on Lake Albert, linking to the city of Bunia in DRC.

“These efforts have cut transit costs, slashed queue times by 40%, increased revenue collection, and boosted cross-border traffic by as much as 80%,” she said.

The DRC, home to more than 95 million people and rich in natural resources, remains one of the most expensive places to trade in Africa, partly due to poor infrastructure and inefficiencies at border points.

Jakob Haushofer, representing the delegation of the EU to Uganda, said the new Borderlands Programme will include investment in trade infrastructure, standards testing facilities, and vocational training for youth and small scale traders.

“For decades, armed groups like the ADF and the M23 have destabilised communities across the borderlands. They have committed great acts of violence against civilians, disrupted trade laws, and weakened trust in public institutions,” he said.

Sanusi Tejan Savage, the IOM chief of mission, said: “By harmonising efforts and leveraging each other's strengths, we can ensure that the people living along the Uganda borderline have access to improve services, increase economic prospect and a more peaceful environment.”