Projections by Stanbic Bank have indicated that East African Community (EAC) trade growth projection is to hit 30 percent in the next five years from the current 11.5 percent.
The projections show that intra-EAC trade is growing twice the size of GDP, which is at 12 percent growth, yet GDP for EAC states is growing at six percent.
‘The growth of trade is being accelerated by mainly tourism across the EAC member countries, mainly among Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda and free movement of people,’ the projections show.
It further adds that emphasis on infrastructure development by respective governments in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda is fostering tourism inflows. The lender indicates that most of Kenya’s tourists hail from the United States of America (USA).
The number totals 10 percent, followed by Uganda (9.5 percent visitors) and Tanzania (8.4 percent visitors) in that order.
Stanbic Bank projects this will be driven by free movement of services and service suppliers. This aims to help the region increase services trade-within the EAC and beyond-in pursuit of the aims of the EAC Treaty.
Achieving the above calls for a two-pronged approach.
This, for starters, necessitates putting in place enabling framework to address the multitude of different crosscutting and sector-specific regulatory, procedural and business environment obstacles that make it difficult for EAC services firms to do business across the border in other EAC Partner States.
It also, secondly, requires putting in place to support EAC services firms build their productive and export capacity in order to actually make trade in services happen.
Based on this, the strategy is guided by a vision of a globally competitive services sector for equitable and sustainable economic development of the EAC region with a Mission to facilitate an integrated, globally competitive, export-oriented EAC services sector.