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About Us
Laying the Foundations
Our roots trace back to 2006, when the UK’s development agency (then DFID, now FCDO) commissioned a study on regional integration challenges in East Africa. The study revealed a disconnect between regional ambitions and national implementation. The solution? A new kind of organisation that could support both, aligning regional frameworks with national priorities. This gave rise to TradeMark East Africa in 2010, designed as a special-purpose vehicle to accelerate trade across the East African Community.
Our first programming focused on: physical access to markets – ports, access roads, and border infrastructure; a stronger trade environment through facilitating digital trade systems, harmonising standards, and fostering policies to enable investments; and improved competitiveness for exporters.
TMA 2.0 – 2017 to 2023
Scaling Up and Deepening Impact
In this phase, we sharpened our focus on reducing trade barriers and improving competitiveness, as well as ensuring that those at the bottom of the pyramid would also benefit from trade facilitation gains. We also expanded operations to include all EAC countries, plus Ethiopia, Somaliland, Djibouti, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia. In 2022, we established Trade Catalyst Africa (TCA), a catalytic finance arm that pilots commercially viable trade infrastructure and improves access to finance for SMEs. In 2023, our continental transition was marked by a rebrand from TMEA to TradeMark Africa, and the launch of our West Africa presence, starting with Ghana.
TMA 3.0 – 2023 to 2030
Accelerating the Trade Transformation
Our strategy for the decade ahead builds on hard-won experience, while addressing development challenges of the future. We are evolving to: unlock digital trade potential; enable African exporters to lead in low-carbon trade; tackle trade barriers that threaten food security; and drive more resilient, inclusive trade systems. The outcome will be larger trade volumes, more sustainable trade, and decent jobs created across Africa.