{"id":102348,"date":"2023-09-09T20:51:23","date_gmt":"2023-09-09T20:51:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby"},"modified":"2023-09-09T22:30:56","modified_gmt":"2023-09-09T22:30:56","slug":"tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby","title":{"rendered":"Tough conditions, lack of finances hurting EAC\u2019s small traders\u2013 lobby"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. <\/strong><\/span>Lack of access to information on trade regulations, violence and harassment and lack of access to finance are hurting women and youth-led businesses in East African Community\u2019s cross-border trade.<\/p>\n

This is according to the East African Women in Business Platform (EAWiBP).<\/p>\n

Women cross-border traders also often face discrimination at the borders where they have high chances of being harassed by border officials, especially when they travel alone, with cases where they are charged higher fees than men.<\/p>\n

Among the biggest impediments however is lack of information they need to navigate the complex trade rules and regulations despite the existence of a Simplified Trade Regime (STR) on customs procedures and documentation, leading to delays and penalties.<\/p>\n

\u201cInformation asymmetry is still a major challenge facing small-scale traders in the EAC region,\u201d said Janice Kimaro, Regional Coordinator at the EAWiBP.<\/p>\n

About 47 per cent of women in cross border trade still use informal routes, according to a recent report by TradeMark Africa.<\/p>\n

This equates to more than half of the businesses, where 80 per cent of trading is run by women.<\/p>\n

According to TradeMark, the majority of the traders are unaware of Simplified Trade Regime (STR) on customs procedures and documentation, hence avoiding formal border posts leading to a higher cost of business.<\/p>\n

STR, provided under the EAC Customs Union, is aimed at attracting small traders transacting regularly in low-value consignments.<\/p>\n

The provision enables simplified certificate of origin, exempting consignments of goods that originate in the EAC and are valued under $2,000 (Sh292, 200) from payment of import duty in the EAC destination country.<\/p>\n

Speaking during a training forum at the Namanga One Stop Border Post, on the Kenyan-Tanzania border, Kimaro said theer is need for continued capacity building initiatives to help address the challenges.<\/p>\n

This, she said, will help small-scale traders to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the EAC bloc and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).<\/p>\n

Majority also have difficulty accessing loans and other forms of financial assistance, the lobby group said.<\/p>\n

This can make it difficult for them to start or expand their businesses.<\/p>\n

The Namanga training benefitted about 60 women and youth SMEs from Kenya and Tanzania.<\/p>\n

According to Kimaro, one possible solution is to create a digital platform that would provide small-scale traders with access to information about trade regulations, market prices, and other resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis would help them to better compete in the market and make informed decisions about their businesses and providing real-time updates on the latest prices for goods, ensuring they are always in the know,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The seminar was organized by the EAWiBP with support from the German Development Cooperation (GiZ).<\/p>\n

It was part of the EAWiBP \u2013 GiZ project titled \u201cImproving participation of women entrepreneurs (SMEs) in the EAC and AfCFTA integration processes\u201d.<\/p>\n

Kimaro urged the trade facilitation agencies from Kenya and Tanzania to do more to address challenges affecting small traders.<\/p>\n

GiZ economic policy advisor Lamech Wesonga said the programme aims to improve the efficiency of trade in the EAC region.<\/p>\n

It provides training and technical assistance to businesses and government agencies to help them comply with trade regulations.<\/p>\n

East African Business Council standards and NTBs manager, Frank Dafa, said youth and women provide the potential to boost productivity and strengthen inclusive economic growth in the EAC.<\/p>\n

He highlighted the potential of women in priority sectors such as the agri-food chain to solve unemployment, food insecurity, rural poverty, and migration distress in the EAC.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Kenya<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. Lack of access to information on trade regulations, violence and harassment and lack of access to finance are hurting women and youth-led businesses in East African Community\u2019s cross-border trade. This is according to the East African Women in Business Platform (EAWiBP). Women cross-border traders also often face discrimination at the borders where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":102347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[6857,7003,544],"class_list":["post-102348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-kenya","tag-kenya"],"yoast_head":"\nTough conditions, lack of finances hurting EAC\u2019s small traders\u2013 lobby - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Lack of access to information on trade regulations, violence and harassment and lack of access to finance are hurting wo ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tough conditions, lack of finances hurting EAC\u2019s small traders\u2013 lobby\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lack of access to information on trade regulations, violence and harassment and lack of access to finance are hurting wo ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-09T20:51:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-09T22:30:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2023\/09\/sm_1694280218.966322.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Tough conditions, lack of finances hurting EAC\u2019s small traders\u2013 lobby\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-09T20:51:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-09T22:30:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby\"},\"wordCount\":594,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2023\/09\/sm_1694280218.966322.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Kenya\",\"Kenya\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby\",\"name\":\"Tough conditions, lack of finances hurting EAC\u2019s small traders\u2013 lobby - kenya\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2023\/09\/sm_1694280218.966322.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-09T20:51:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-09T22:30:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Lack of access to information on trade regulations, violence and harassment and lack of access to finance are hurting wo ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2023\/09\/sm_1694280218.966322.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2023\/09\/sm_1694280218.966322.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":666,\"caption\":\"Tough conditions, lack of finances hurting EAC\u2019s small traders\u2013 lobby\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tough conditions, lack of finances hurting EAC\u2019s small traders\u2013 lobby\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/\",\"name\":\"kenya\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tough conditions, lack of finances hurting EAC\u2019s small traders\u2013 lobby - kenya","description":"Lack of access to information on trade regulations, violence and harassment and lack of access to finance are hurting wo ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tough conditions, lack of finances hurting EAC\u2019s small traders\u2013 lobby","og_description":"Lack of access to information on trade regulations, violence and harassment and lack of access to finance are hurting wo ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby","og_site_name":"kenya","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2023-09-09T20:51:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-09-09T22:30:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":666,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2023\/09\/sm_1694280218.966322.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Tough conditions, lack of finances hurting EAC\u2019s small traders\u2013 lobby","datePublished":"2023-09-09T20:51:23+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-09T22:30:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby"},"wordCount":594,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2023\/09\/sm_1694280218.966322.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Kenya","Kenya"],"articleSection":["all news","economy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby","name":"Tough conditions, lack of finances hurting EAC\u2019s small traders\u2013 lobby - kenya","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2023\/09\/sm_1694280218.966322.jpg","datePublished":"2023-09-09T20:51:23+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-09T22:30:56+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Lack of access to information on trade regulations, violence and harassment and lack of access to finance are hurting wo ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2023\/09\/sm_1694280218.966322.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2023\/09\/sm_1694280218.966322.jpg","width":1000,"height":666,"caption":"Tough conditions, lack of finances hurting EAC\u2019s small traders\u2013 lobby"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/tough-conditions-lack-of-finances-hurting-eacs-small-traders-lobby#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tough conditions, lack of finances hurting EAC\u2019s small traders\u2013 lobby"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/","name":"kenya","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}