KAMPALA, August 24, 2026 — The East African Business Council [EABC], with support from the GIZ African Union [AU] African Continental Free Trade Area [AfCFTA] Programme II, has trained business membership organisations across the East African Community [EAC] region on AfCFTA Rules of Origin and tariff preferences.
The three-day Regional Training of Trainers [ToT] workshop, held in Kampala, brought together 30 representatives from national apex bodies, manufacturers’ associations and sectoral business membership organisations from across the EAC.
The training is intended to equip business organisations with the knowledge and tools to help firms understand and comply with AfCFTA Rules of Origin, tariff preferences and documentation requirements.
Representing the Permanent Secretary of Uganda’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Richard Okot Okello urged businesses to develop a practical understanding of the AfCFTA implementation framework, particularly the Rules of Origin, in order to qualify for preferential treatment.
“Businesses need to develop a strong practical understanding of the AfCFTA implementation framework, particularly the Rules of Origin, to qualify for preferential treatment,” Okot Okello said.
He also called on business membership organisations to provide practical support to firms seeking to trade under the continental free trade agreement.
Okot Okello said the AfCFTA’s market of about 1.3 billion people, with a combined gross domestic product of approximately US$ 3.4 trillion, presents significant opportunities for African businesses.
However, intra-African trade remains at about 16–18 percent of Africa’s total trade, indicating that much of the continent’s potential market remains untapped.
Lamech Wesonga, Economic and Policy Advisor at GIZ, said trade and regional integration are critical to creating business opportunities, improving livelihoods and supporting economic transformation.
Representing EABC Executive Director, Gift Gabriel Mbuya, Research and Policy Officer–Trade in Goods, said the AfCFTA could enable businesses to expand their markets, increase production, develop regional value chains, attract investment and improve competitiveness.
However, he said businesses must have the capacity to use the instruments created under the agreement.
“These opportunities can only translate into increased trade when businesses have the knowledge and capacity to effectively utilise AfCFTA instruments,” Mbuya said.
Under the Training of Trainers model, the organisations that participated in the workshop are expected to pass the knowledge and tools acquired to their wider private-sector networks.
The training is expected to help firms reduce compliance risks, make better use of tariff preferences, identify new markets and make informed decisions on production, pricing and investment.
The initiative also seeks to move businesses beyond awareness of the AfCFTA towards actual utilisation of preferential market access, increased intra-African trade and stronger regional value chains.
Buy your copy of theCooperator magazine from one of our countrywide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news
