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Friday June 6, 2025
Reported by: Sarah Mawerere, Uganda
In many parts of Africa, borders are more than just demarcations; they are lifelines for cross-border traders, especially the women who trade goods to sustain families and communities.
There are a number of borders that are key and have eased trade, such as Malaba and Busia between Uganda and Kenya, Mirama Hills and Katuna between Uganda and Rwanda, Mutukula between Uganda and Tanzania, Mpondwe between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Elegu between Uganda and South Sudan.. These have been operationalized as One Stop Border Posts(OSBPs), designed to streamline trade and improve mobility.
This story, however, focuses on two of the borders, that is, Mpondwe One Stop Border Post on the western side between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mutukula One Stop Border Post on the southern side between Uganda and Tanzania.
Cross-border women traders walk past the Mutukula One Border Post, courtesy picture by Malik Fahad
Mutukula One Stop Border Post (OSBP), which lies at the heart of East Africa’s regional integration, is a vital gateway between Uganda and Tanzania that opens up trade, hope, and transformation.
The Simplified Trade Regime (STR) is a policy under the East African Community (EAC) that allows small-scale traders, mostly women, to move goods across borders without complicated documentation or agents. The system applies to goods valued under 2,000 US Dollars, and aims to reduce corruption, boost trade, and empower women in businesses while providing a vital source of employment and livelihood for the low-income and low-skilled, who are mainly women.
Ms. Banuze Jane is the chairperson of the Mutukula Cross Border Women Traders Association. She shares how trainings by the East African Community and other agencies equipped her and her fellow women traders with skills on free movement and how to trade.
Link below to Ms. Benuza
The border Infrastructure Development Promotes Migration and Free Movement in Africa through the One-Stop Border Post (OSBP), which combines immigration and customs services in a single location, enabling faster clearance of people and goods.
The One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) merges border control operations of both countries (Uganda and Tanzania) into a single facility. Instead of going through two separate checkpoints, traders are now cleared in one place, significantly reducing delays.
The OSBP has not only reduced clearance times and improved border infrastructure but also become a gateway for empowering women through formalized trade systems, economic opportunity, and the promise of seamless regional integration. As the women cross this border daily with goods and ambition, their stories reflect a broader African dream of free movement, economic inclusion, and gender-responsive trade policies.
Officials from both Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) sit side-by-side, working jointly to serve the traders. “For women will be handled in a sensitive way without delay”. Says Mr. Milton Rahuka, Regional Manager- South Western Region- Uganda Revenue Authority, who oversees the Mutukula border. “The women traders pass through the well-streamlined border point with better facilities”. Rahuka adds.
Audio of Rahuka added below.
The improved roads and facilities at the border points reduce travel time and transportation costs, making mobility more accessible and safer. This efficiency is life-changing for the women who do cross-border trade between Uganda and Tanzania.
The African Union (AU) adopted the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons in 2018, aiming to create a visa-free Africa, ease cross-border movement, and boost intra-African trade. While only a few countries have ratified it so far, progress is underway, especially under frameworks like the African Continental Free Trade Area(AfCFTA).
According to the AU, nearly 70% of informal cross-border traders are women. These women face unique barriers: limited access to finance, harassment at border points, poor sanitary facilities, and little access to legal or trade information.
Women still make up 70%–80% of informal cross-border trade in Africa (UN Women, 2022).
The key benefits of these initiatives are to reduce trade costs and bureaucracy, boosting intra-African trade, empowering informal traders, especially women, and enhancing regional peace and integration.
Mandated to speak on behalf of the Ministry of East African Community Affairs, Uganda, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Ms. Edith Mwanje, credited the East African Community bloc through its Treaty of East Africa to have brought on board women to trade across borders, which she said is uplifting women.
Ms. Mwanje revealed that through the Digital Networking Program for Women in Business, fifteen million women traders are targeted across Africa to go digital in business and network while using digital devices like mobile phones and computers, to share information on trade and marketing, which she alludes to as the best way to do business..
“Other avenues like the East Africa Business Council have also built platforms for women to develop together and integrate by working together”. She further said.
Mpondwe- a newly upgraded One Stop Border Post (OSBP) supported by regional projects under the Great Lakes Trade Facilitation Project (GLTFP) and COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa), has helped streamline trade.
Signage indicating office for the Mpondwe-DRC Cross-border Women Traders [Photo by Ram Kikamah]
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has played a critical role in easing cross-border trade, making it safer and more efficient for women traders. Yet, COMESA is not working alone across the continent; other regional blocs and international agencies are also promoting free movement and trade facilitation through various agreements and protocols
The Great Lakes Project, which operated for three years up to 2022, was implemented by COMESA with other support agencies. This has facilitated women at the borders of Mpondwe, on the western part between Uganda and the DRC, and Bunagana, the southwestern part between Uganda and Rwanda. The Development Objective of the Great Lakes Project was to facilitate cross-border trade by increasing the capacity for commerce and reducing the costs faced by cross-border traders especially small-scale, vulnerable families in borderland areas and women traders.
The project also benefited youth by creating new opportunities for employment in construction, but also in sectors such as transport and logistics, as trade flows increase and become more organized.
Uganda’s Ministry of Trade and Cooperatives constructed the Mpondwe border market and allotted stalls to 2,768 market Vendors, of which 2,060 were Female, constituting 74.4 %, and 708 were Male, constituting 25.6%. The facility also boasts a child care centre to support mothers and takes cognisance of persons with disabilities.
Graph indicating the allocation of stalls at Mpondwe market between men and women cross-border traders
Uganda’s Ministry of Trade and Cooperatives constructed the Mpondwe border market and allotted stalls to the Majority, who are women. The facility also boasts a child care centre to support mothers and takes cognisance of persons with disabilities.
Asked about the specific changes implemented to simplify the operations of small-scale traders, the COMESA Assistant Trade Development Officer at the Mpondwe One Stop Post Mr. Milton Tenywa, said after the construction of the establishment, various offices, including those of the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and Immigration, were brought together in the same structure unlike in the past where offices were a distance away from each other. “This has therefore reduced delays in clearing women traders”. He noted.
Mr. Tenywa noted that as the COMESA office, they specifically handle small-scale cross-border traders whose merchandise is below $2000, adding that they and other offices initially operated in small containers, a situation that made business transactions difficult.
He further revealed that the number of women cross-border traders at the Mpondwe border post has increased over the years as a result of community sensitization, stressing that they used to be hampered by a network, a challenge that has been addressed to sort out any kind of delays in clearing traders at the border post.
Listen to Mr Tenywa here:
Women constitute a significant portion of informal cross-border trade in Africa. According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), they represent approximately 70% of such traders in the Southern African Development Community region. These women play a crucial role in ensuring food security and driving economic activity by trading agricultural products and other goods.
New infrastructure is not just about roads, customs booths, and other buildings furnished- it is about gender inclusive design. At Mpondwe(Uganda and DRC border), Mutukula (Uganda and Tanzania border), and Bunagana (Uganda and DRC border), gender-sensitive planning has meant improved trade for cross-border women,
The enhancement of infrastructure at the Mpondwe border post between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has significantly benefited cross-border women traders, exemplifying the broader advantages of free movement in Africa. These developments have not only facilitated trade but also empowered women economically, contributing to regional integration and prosperity.
Women and Men Cross Border Traders follow customs procedure at the Mpondwe One Stop Border Post [Recent photo taken by Ram Kikamah]
Faster Clearance: Women traders, many of whom deal in perishables like fruits, foodstuffs, and vegetables, benefit from reduced delays, lowering spoilage and financial losses.
Simplified Trade Regime (STR): Enables small-scale women traders to trade without complex customs procedures or large fees for goods under a certain value threshold (2000 US Dollars).
Safety and Dignity: Gender-responsive infrastructure helps protect women from harassment, ensuring safer trading environments.
Designated stalls, secured storage, and clean amenities improve working conditions.
Financial Inclusion and Skills Training: Training sessions on entrepreneurship, trade laws, and digital literacy empower women to scale up operations.
Some programs have facilitated access to cross-border microfinance services and mobile banking.
Economic Empowerment: Increased incomes and stability for women-led households. Women become key contributors to local economies and agents of regional integration.
Ms. Masika Joweria Ahammed, a member and chairperson of the Women’s Cross Border Traders Association at the Mpondwe Border Post, in an interview with this reporter, said the infrastructure also hosts the group’s office, where they hold weekly meetings to discuss issues regarding their trade dealings, which she argued that has organized the women traders more than ever before.
She stressed that as traders, unlike in the past, the establishment of what she described as a modern market (Mpondwe), has provided them enough security and space for their merchandise, thus avoiding losses because there are 61 enclosed spaces where women traders can safely keep their merchandize or goods like tomatoes, clothes, fish, chicken and Jerry cans of palm oil before selling them off.
Masika, a mother of five children dealing in clothes, narrated that her engagement in cross-border trade has enabled her to pay school fees for her children, two of whom have previously completed university-level education and are currently on the lookout for job opportunities. She added that initially, the immigration office at the border used to charge them 50,000 Uganda shillings (equivalent of 14 US Dollars) per week, a charge she revealed has since been stopped. Adding that this has made crossing easier than before.
Listen in below and watch the video
Another woman trader, Nuriat Kabugho from DRC, dealing in Palm Oil, appreciated the infrastructure at the border post, and revealed that before the establishment, as traders transacting cross-border businesses, they used to stay in the open and in scorching sunshine or rain, a situation she said has now changed. “We used to put our things in an open area where sunshine would disturb, but now, they constructed for us, and we are okay,” Kabugho stressed that this has also ensured safety for her merchandise.
She added that the safety of their merchandise as traders has been guaranteed with the improved structures at the border post.
The narrative of Mrs. Sefina Kabugho, a trader from the DRC city of Beni transacting business at the Mpondwe-Lhubiriha market, is no different from her colleagues. She said their free movement to Ugandan markets has been simplified, thus enhancing their livelihood.
She stated that as long as one has a Congolese National Identification Card, they are offered free entry into the country (Uganda) without interference”, adding that the situation is the same for Ugandan traders doing business in DRC.
Kabugho further said, the cross-border business has enabled her to meet the basic needs of her family, including paying school fees for the children.
Another member of the Cross Border Traders Association, Mrs. Kipako Biira, dealing in Mukene (silverfish), hailed the initiative of putting up the structure at the Mpondwe border, saying they currently operate well without inconveniences because they now have stores where they can store their merchandise.
Meanwhile, the Kasese District Head of Security in charge of Bukonzo County, Lieutenant Maate Magwara, noted that women are currently more engaged in cross-border trade activities at the Mpondwe border post since small-scale livelihood goods or merchandise, especially fish, palm oil, onions, and clothes, involve women.
Lieutenant Magwara added that the Department of Immigration has introduced a simple document at a free cost given to anyone, including women, to go through the security checks as a way of easing cross-border trade.
To enhance a peaceful environment for cross-border trade transactions, the Head of Security said they are in close collaboration through occasional diplomatic meetings with DRC authorities to curb any form of insecurity that might arise, including the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF)rebel group that has threatened Uganda while based in DRC.
Further to note, the Uganda Revenue Authority Regional Manager for Western Uganda, Mr. Joel Kuka, recently said during one of the community sensitization outreaches conducted by the revenue body around the border areas of Western Uganda, that people still dodge paying and use unauthorized routes to smuggle goods in and out of Uganda.
He therefore called upon all traders to follow the proper procedures put in place via the designated border channels, where they can be helped well, rather than evading them. He was further quoted as saying that” not all taxes are huge, some taxes levied are too low, and that this is the money that can go to developing the economy and to provide better services like education, health care, and security.
Signpost of Mutukula OSBP police post courtesy photo by Fahad Malik
At Mutukula One Stop Border Post (between Uganda and Tanzania), beyond reduced costs and time, the combination of OSBP and Simplified Trade Regime has increased formalization of women-led businesses. More women now register as traders, access microcredit, and form cooperatives.
Listen to the link below of Mr. Mweyunge of Mutukula- Tanzania customs
Under the implementation of the Simplified Trade Regime (STR), the Ministry established Trade Information Desks/Offices (TIDs) at the border posts of Goli, Mpondwe, Busia, Malaba, Vurra, Madiopei, Lwakhakha, and Bunagana, recruited and trained the trade information officers, established Cross Border Traders Associations (CBTAs), and created awareness on the STR to cross-border traders, 70% of whom were women at each border post. As of the end of 2020, women registered 44.20% as direct (GLTFP) beneficiaries.
Graph showing the cross-border infrastructure beneficiary gender difference between women and men
Local organizations like the Uganda Women Cross Border Traders Association (UWCBTA) are helping women understand trade rules, navigate customs, and report corruption when it occurs.
The success of Mutukula reflects a broader trend in East African regional integration that works from the grassroots to the top. The EAC’s Simplified Trade Regime [STR] and the investment in border infrastructure through programs like the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa’s Trade Facilitation are proving that gender-inclusive trade policies can yield tangible results
These efforts also align with the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which seeks to eliminate barriers to intra-African trade.
Beyond reduced costs and time, the combination of OSBP and the Simplified Trade Regime has increased formalization of women-led businesses. More women now register as traders, access microcredit, and form cooperatives.
Local organizations like the Uganda Women Cross Border Traders Association (UWCBTA) are helping women understand trade rules, navigate customs, and report corruption when it occurs.
Heavy vehicles carrying merchandise waiting to pass through customs at Mutukula OSBP, Courtesy picture by Fahad Malik
The success of Mutukula reflects a broader trend in East African regional integration that works from the grassroots to the top. The EAC’s Simplified Trade Regime [STR] and the investment in border infrastructure through programs like the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa’s Trade Facilitation are proving that gender-inclusive trade policies can yield tangible results.
At Mutukula, between Uganda and Tanzania, women are still facing the challenge of not knowing how to read, write, and interpret English, a language mainly used to label and document trade at the border point. Kiswahili language is still picked but at a low pace and need of persistent sensitization and training of the young and upcoming women and youth traders. With this limitation, the women traders could be cheated during an exchange of money or across the borders. For Mpndwe between Uganda and DRC, much as developments have taken place with protocols and policies of free movement, some women, men, and youth traders are not aware and not utilizing the channels gazetted to pass through either country to trade.
Also, the lack of sufficient information and knowledge by some women traders, especially the new entrants in the cross-border trade.
There is also the challenge of harassment by the security officers, most especially when it comes to evading taxes and using improper channels. Also, the risk of encountering robbers along the way across borders and encountering bandits, most especially on the side of the DRC, where insecurity is recurring.
However, at this stage, interventions are rolling out to curb the challenges, and these include;
The improvement of border points like Mpondwe and Mutukula to become One Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) has not only enhanced trade efficiency, movement, and safety for cross-border traders, especially women traders, but also promoted the free movement of people and goods across the region. These improved border facilities are clear examples of how regional integration frameworks like the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are strengthening inclusivity and interconnectedness. Sustaining this progress will require continued investment in infrastructure, sensitization, and gender-responsive trade policies that keep women at the center of Africa’s integration agenda.
DISCLAIMER: This content is produced as part of the Move Africa project, commissioned by the African Union Commission and supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the GIZ or the African Union.
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