Better technology adoption is emerging as a more effective way to dismantle the persistent web of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) weighing on African trade.

 

A new report by TradeMark Africa (TMA) shows that tariffs are no longer the main obstacle to commerce. Instead, procedural barriers and standards requirements now dominate, constraints that can be eased through greater use of technology.

TMA’s 2024–2025 Annual Report, released last week, says progress in expanding intra-African trade and trade with global markets will increasingly depend on the innovations African countries adopt.

The report finds that improved standards and quality infrastructure across the continent have strengthened how goods are tested, certified and cleared at borders.“Today’s trade barriers are procedural rather than tariff-based. Standards and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) requirements now govern most global trade. Our focus is on turning them into gateways to markets, not sources of delay.“When standards reduce rejections, NTBs are resolved, clearance times fall, and trade becomes predictable,” said TradeMark Africa chief executive David Beer.

He added: “TradeMark Africa’s Strategy 3 continues to prioritise consistent application of harmonised standards, credible NTB monitoring systems, and the expansion of digital trade platforms that reduce discretion and uncertainty across regions. Trade succeeds when systems work together—when laboratory capacity is credible, digital systems reduce discretion, and clearance processes align across borders.”Certification reformsAccording to TMA’s Independent SPS Evaluation Report, reforms cut certification times by 60 percent, reducing approval periods from five months in 2017 to an average of two months in 2023, as reported by 60 percent of surveyed firms in East Africa.“The shorter certification cycles eased working-capital pressures for exporters and reduced risks linked to delays and rejections. In Rwanda, improved inspection systems cut meat-product interceptions by 45 percent.“In Zambia, enhanced laboratory capacity during emergency food imports enabled faster and more reliable clearance, including the successful processing of 100 metric tonnes of maize with zero rejections, while testing times fell from 72 hours to under 30,” the report said.

In Uganda, decentralised laboratory services reduced turnaround times from more than three weeks to about 15 days.

In West Africa, early SPS diagnostics and customs-connectivity pilots under the Ecowas Commission are laying the groundwork for more predictable, rules-based border operations.

Investments in ports, border posts and corridor-support systems — including upgrades at Uganda’s Elegu, Goli and Mahagi — cut clearance times by 83 percent, 58 percent and 63 percent respectively.

In Rwanda and eastern DRC, the newly completed Rubavu Port has strengthened links between Horn–Great Lakes markets, moving two-thirds of its annual target within three months.

In West Africa, corridor initiatives are progressing towards integrated customs systems and SPS readiness, supporting long-term interoperability across Ecowas trade routes.“Trade systems are a form of public infrastructure. When rules align, standards are credible, and non-tariff barriers are addressed systematically, risk falls and costs come down. This year’s results show that predictability, rather than physical infrastructure alone, is now the determining factor in whether African firms can plan with confidence,” said TradeMark Africa Council chair Leo Svahnback.

Digital gainsThe report also highlights gains in border-performance systems, with digital tools replacing paper-based processes, reducing discretion and shortening approval timelines where certification and transit procedures can be verified electronically.ePhyto digitisation in Mozambique and digital quality-infrastructure upgrades in Zanzibar are strengthening the reliability of SPS and standards systems along trade routes in the Horn and southern Africa.

These reforms supported exports and cross-border trade across horticulture, grains, livestock and manufactured goods. Faster testing, shorter certification cycles and more predictable clearance enabled firms to access markets more consistently.

The report shows that better system functionality is directly linked to higher trade volumes, improved market access and stronger participation by small and medium-sized enterprises in regional and global value chains.

TradeMark Africa board chair and former Ethiopian prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn said competitiveness is increasingly shaped at the border through technology.“NTBs restrict African trade far more than tariffs. Aligning standards, reducing discretion, and resolving NTBs are essential if Africa is to build regional value chains. Africa’s credibility in trade is won or lost at the border,” he said.

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