Investors tipped on how to exploit opportunities in EAC

Three leading regional organisations have teamed up to assist businesses keen on taking advantage of the expected opening up of the East African market.

The three — Strategy Centre Africa, a regional resource centre; the East African Business Council, a representative of the East African Community private sector; and Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa), a private sector lobby group — have teamed up to help businesses exploit opportunities and manage challenges.

And as a first step they are organising a two-day conference in Nairobi under the theme “Unlocking business opportunities through the East African Community Treaty.”

The conference will run between July 8 and 9 at the Nairobi’s Intercontinental Hotel.

“The principal aim is to bring a better understanding of the implications of the recently signed East Africa Community Customs Protocol to the East Africa Community Private Sector,” the organising committee says.

The protocol takes effect on Thursday, ushering in a common market that will be characterised by free movement of services, capital, labour and goods.

The conference will bring together participants from both the private sector and the government.

“We will seek to create an awareness of the new business climate and sensitise the business community on the Common Market in an easy to understand, business related and non-technical manner,” the committee said.

There are good reasons to this. With government officials remaining key negotiators of the union, the EAC private sector played a marginal role in the discussions setting up the EAC Common market protocol.

The private sector has remained with limited understanding of the various elements of the protocol and what the common market portends for their business.

The EAC Common Market was preceded by the EAC Customs Union, which came into force on January 1, 2005.

During the first stage of the Customs Union, goods from Kenya — considered the region’s dominant economy — entering Uganda and Tanzania attracted duties on a reducing basis.

Goods from Uganda and Tanzania — and now Rwanda and Burundi which joined the Customs Union in July 2008 — have been entering the Kenyan market duty-free.

The five-year transition period expired last December 31.

Consolidate gains