Regional Cross-Border Trade
Introduction
There is a need in Africa to stimulate trade that is inclusive and employment intensive and this, according to a 2012 report by the World Bank, can be achieved by encouraging and supporting intra-regional trade. The African Union’s Agenda 2063 expressly calls for an integrated continent, typified by the free movement of people, goods and services. The integration would offer a real opportunity for Africa to increase productivity and growth over a sustained period. A further benefit is that cross-border trade can be a key factor in alleviating poverty as the poor generally both produce and trade the basic goods that dominate such transactions. e integration also has a direct benefit for women in Africa as they have been at the forefront of cross-border trade both as a source of income and employment.
According to the United Nations Development Fund for Women, women constitute up to 70% of the informal cross-border traders in the SADC region, while a survey of the World Bank found that 85% of the traders in the DRC are women, yet 82% of the officials who regulate the border are men. Many of these women are self-employed and engagement in cross-border trade provides them with a means of selling their local produce and increasing the income of their families. According to UN Women Watch, cross-border trade has resulted in new trans-national networks supported by common languages, culture and kinship and it is an important means for the women to reduce poverty.
Women traders contend with many challenges such as limited market information, lack of knowledge of trade regulations and procedures, and physical vulnerability whilst travelling and at border crossings.
In the course of trying to conduct their trades, women are vulnerable to corrupt officials soliciting bribes, sexual abuse and the confiscation of goods.
These barriers prevent women from fully realizing the economic benefits from intraregional trade, while also imposing psychological and societal costs that reinforce the disempowerment of women in the continent.
The disbursement provided by the NEPAD Spanish Fund for African Women Empowerment helped national trade promotion organisations and women exporters to gain access to dedicated services and reach foreign markets. Consultative forums were utilised as a tool for female entrepreneurs to discuss the barriers they face in developing goods and services for export markets. Workshops were convened to delineate the specific rules governing business in the different Regional Economic Communities (RECs) of Africa. Furthermore, policy interventions aimed at facilitating cross-border trade were developed. To support the work of informal women traders, two federations and 10 associations were established. An important initiative to promote cross-border trade was a study of administrative procedures at border posts, as well as the development of a list of national and regional instruments governing migration and customs procedures in the COMESA, ECCAS and SADC Regional Economic Communities. This revealed many disparities between the member countries and a guide to good practice in respect of administrative, customs and migration procedures was therefore developed.
The Good Practice Approach and Success Stories
The following two NSF-funded projects outline the success that was achieved through the promotion of regional cross-border trade.
MINICOM (Ministry of Trade and Industry): Support to Women in Informal Cross-Border Trade in Rwanda
The project by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM) sought to improve the socio-economic well-being of women involved in informal trade within Rwanda and cross-border with neighbouring countries. The project facilitated the organisation of women into trade cooperatives aimed at improving their advocacy and opportunities; provided capacity building programmes, focused on entrepreneurship; and instilled knowledge regarding trading requirements and up-scaling opportunities. The project also sought to facilitate access to finance and financial training to improve the economic opportunities of the female participants. Through these initiatives, the project targeted specific and enduring sources of discrimination against women, that have created a cycle of poverty for women and children. These initiatives, then, contribute to reducing these cycles and promoting women’s rights and gender equality in the future.
During the MINICOM (Ministry of Trade and Industry) project, Delphine Uwizeyimana, a cross-border trader in Rwanda, at the Rusizi border and a trader member of the Koatamu cooperative recounted her success story:
“The funding received helped us finish a warehouse; I know we shall achieve more. There is a significant difference between us who are working with this project and those who are not. We can now afford to clothe our children with decent clothes. We now have a good livelihood”.
Christine Niyonsaba commented,
“The MINICOM project has placed our formerly risky trade in a more advantageous position. We have expanded our trade volumes, and it is no longer risky to do business here. I call upon other women who are still doing illegal cross-border trade to leave such activities and join trade groups like the one we are involved in”.
Florida Nyirambonigaba who does cross-border trade along the Cyanika border stated,
“We no longer work in degrading conditions. Those who used to be poor among us have improved. We are continuing to grow our trade, we want to continue working with the government to eradicate smuggling and other illicit border-crossing practices”.
CEPGL (La Communauté Economique des Pays des Grands Lacs): Coordination of regional activities in support of women involved in cross-border informal trade in the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries
The CEPGL (La Communauté Economique des Pays des Grands Lacs) project was based within the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries and directly involved 146 women and 94 men, all informal traders. The main aim was to empower women traders by addressing problems arising from existing migration and customs procedures in an attempt to stimulate regional cross-border trade. These problems, coupled with safety issues, were identified as a contributory cause of the poor socio-economic wellbeing of women engaged in cross-border informal trade within the Community. The project aimed at empowering these women and securing their safety in cross-border informal trade.
To support and coordinate their work, two federations and 10 associations were formed and an online database of women active in informal cross-border trade was created. A list of national and regional instruments governing migration and customs procedures in the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries area relating to cross-border trade was developed and analysed, revealing the disparity between the countries. Similarly, a study of administrative procedures at border posts revealed differing interpretations of regulations and evidence of gender discrimination. A guide to good practice in respect of administrative, customs and migration has been developed and a series of workshops and regular meetings to discuss procedures were initiated. A cross-border market for informal trade within the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries was established as a pilot project. This met the women trader’s need for better working conditions, display space, sanitation, and storage facilities.
The project further sought to increase the informal trader’s economic capacity by encouraging the formation of cooperatives, and several have been formed, thus increasing the possibility of lines of credit becoming available. Furthermore, the manner in which the project was conducted – and the significant research that it included – ensured that the project would be applicable, feasible and relevant to the women in these communities. In so doing, the project has generated important insights and information for future growth in the area.
The establishment of a network of women traders by CEPGL (Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries) on both sides of the border has enabled the women to communicate more effectively and to operate more efficiently. The network has specifically helped the women traders to gain access to relevant information which in turn has saved time and created revenue. They are quickly informed by their colleagues about the opportunities to buy or sell in their respective countries. In addition, for the first time ever, women traders have had the opportunity to sit at the same table and exchange information with customs and migration officers working at border crossings. An atmosphere of conviviality characterized the exchanges between the administrative authorities, the border services and the women traders. This established a climate of understanding between women traders and migration and customs officers. In the end, women were very pleased to note that there were authorities in CEPGL member countries who cared about their situation and recognized the importance of the trade that their families depended upon. They also expressed their hope that the Training Workshops in which they had participated in the Project would also be a strong signal for CEPGL member countries to have a frank dialogue in order to consolidate development and peace between countries.
Lessons Learned from the Regional Cross-Border Trade Sector Projects
Develop resources outlining policies and procedures governing migration and customs procedures that affect cross-border trade across Africa
A clear need emerged from the various projects for the development of resources that cover all national and regional instruments governing migration and customs procedures across Africa. These should particularly relate to cross-border trading in the regional economic communities (RECs) and should be written in a language that informal traders can easily understand.
CEPGL (Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries) effectively addressed these problems by developing an online database of women active in informal cross-border trade; creating a list of national and regional instruments governing migration and customs procedures in the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries area relating to cross-border trade; compiling a guide to good practice in respect of administrative, customs and migration; and initiating a series of workshops and regular meetings to discuss procedures.
Engage with regional and national structures that govern regional and international trade to facilitate gender mainstreaming in this area
The MINICOM (Ministry of Trade and Industry) project in Rwanda provided training for 650 women working as cross-border traders. The MINICOM project included Trade Policy and Cross-border Strategies, Rwanda Cooperative Policy and Law, Entrepreneurship and Taxation, and Simplified Trade Regimes in EAC and COMESA. The project subsequently facilitated the organisation of 875 women into 37 trade cooperatives to improve their advocacy and opportunities, providing capacity building programmes focused on entrepreneurship, and instilling knowledge on trading requirements and up-scaling opportunities.
Convene forums that articulate the challenges and aspirations of women entrepreneurs regarding cross-border trade
Women traders, while making an important contribution to cross-border trading and improving their families’ livelihoods, face many challenges. It is therefore important to convene forums where these women can articulate their challenges and aspirations regarding cross-border trade. Such forums should further arrive at solutions to address these problems.
Many of the projects took a step in the right direction to mitigate the problems women traders face when engaging in cross-border trading. For example, the MINICOM (Ministry of Trade and Industry) project, again, facilitated the organisation of 875 women into trade cooperatives aimed at improving their advocacy and opportunities, providing capacity building programmes focused on entrepreneurship, and instilling knowledge on trading requirements and up-scaling opportunities. The National Council of Women Entrepreneurs in Mali convened a workshop for 30 women on regional economic trade and other issues of importance for Malian businesswomen. At the end of the workshop, the attendees better understood how to increase their effectiveness in trading and more specifically, the rules governing business in ECOWAS and the West African Economic and Monetary Union.
Institute mechanisms to reduce the vulnerability of women cross-border traders
Many studies have identified the vulnerability of women cross-border traders and despite the valuable contribution that they make to improve the livelihoods of their families, very little is done to alleviate their plight. Since they are mainly engaged in informal trade, their contribution to intra-regional trade in Africa is under-reported and they still suffer from invisibility, stigmatization, lack of recognition of their economic contribution, physical/sexual violence, poor working conditions, and harassment, particularly from border officials. There is, therefore, a clear need to implement mechanisms to reduce the vulnerability of women cross-border traders.
The CEPGL (Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries) project incisively addressed the plight of these women through a pilot project which, amongst others, aimed at empowering these women and securing their safety in cross-border informal trade. In Mali, cross-border trade with Burkina Faso, principally in fish and fish products, is pursued largely through the work of women informal traders. The GAAS-Mali (Animation Action Group in Sahel Mali) project not only strengthened the economic capacity of the Malian women traders but also developed measures to protect women traders against violence on the routes to the market. Interventions included training to strengthen their knowledge of administrative and financial management and the payment of medical fees for those undergoing treatment arising from previous incidents of gender-based violence. Treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and control of HIV /AIDS infections was undertaken.