Women, who form a key part of informal trade in East Africa, will benefit from a programme to equip them with knowledge in customs and trade procedures as well as boost their revenue.

The $4.5 million scheme by TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) will involve women traders from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and South Sudan and run for about a year.

“These efforts will enable women traders to overcome key challenges including access to market and trading information, understanding of customs and immigration requirements, compliance with standards, business development skills and access to finance,” Lisa Karanja, senior director for business competitiveness at TMEA said.

“Additionally, TMEA will continue to strengthen women traders’ associations, groups and cooperatives to enable them to effectively engage with policymakers at national and local level, access group loans and engage in collective marketing.”

TMEA seeks to significantly contribute to women traders’ knowledge on EAC trade and export procedures by December 2016 in partnership with local organisations that will implement the programme.

“Targets include a 10 per cent average increase in revenues of the targeted women exporters and traders, a 30 per cent increase in the use of formal trade channels and systems by the women cross-border traders and the adoption of policies, regulations or practices that support an enabling environment for women,” the agency said.

A second five-year phase is envisaged for 2017 with a $15 million budget committed to the effort.

“Empowering women creates a positive multiplier effect on poverty reduction, economic growth, government revenues and employment creation, among other factors,” Foreign Affairs and International Trade secretary Amina Mohamed said during the launch of the programme in Nairobi last week.

About 5,000 Kenyan women will benefit from the programme dubbed Women and Trade (WaT).

A report by the World Bank “Engendering Development” reveals that women reinvest up to 90 per cent of their income in education, health and nutrition of their family and community compared to 30 to 40 per cent for men.

Another report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation further notes that women could produce 20 to 30 per cent more food, significantly increasing product yield translating to up to 150 million fewer hungry people, if they had the same access to productive resources.

Frank Matsaert, chief executive, TMEA, said the WaT programme seeks to increase incomes and improve livelihoods for women traders and women-owned enterprises through capacity building and addressing trade barriers.

The programme will also advocate policies that will create an enabling environment for women entrepreneurs to thrive.

“Historically, women have been marginalised either overtly through violence or subtly by exclusion. Government and private sector need to jointly show their recognition of women’s labour by providing a fair and productive environment for them to trade,” said Mr Matsaert.

“TMEA’s programmes seek to use existing infrastructure to implement and roll out the various interventions focusing on women informal cross border trader. Women’s inclusion is very important to improving the region’s overall business competitiveness” he added.

A Kenyan beneficiary of the programme, Agnes Gachagua, said she had been trained to trade and supplement her earnings as a Kindergarten teacher.

She sells African woven baskets and attire across the Busia-Uganda border, Malindi, Kitengela, Mombasa and Nairobi, and says people are easing up towards women in informal trade.

“This is my second year of trading. We have been empowered by this programme and compared to when I was only teaching, I am now able to live comfortably and provide for my children,” said the mother-of-three.

The programme will also engage border customs officials at 12 EAC border posts in policy dialogue and capacity development initiatives.