The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) member states are seeking to harmonize laws guiding e-commerce within the bloc in a bid to deepen trade and ensure consumer safety.
Under the Ksh 1.2 billion (€8m) Enhancement of Governance and Enabling Environment in the ICT sector (EGEE-ICT) Programme, COMESA countries are seeking to develop consistent e-commerce laws that support regional integration and consumer/business trust.
Speaking during the validation workshop for the Draft Policy and Regulatory Frameworks on E-commerce, Public Key Infrastructure, Data Protection and Privacy, Intellectual Property Rights, State Department for Trade ICT director Timothy Were said is currently formulating e-commerce policy following the development of E-commerce Strategy in 2023.
“Our people are very tech savvy and they are doing a lot of trade online both formally and informally using social media platforms and when this happen there are issues of consumer protection, trust, verification of the products being traded online, there are issues of return policy in case a customer is not happy and online fraud. That is why we are looking at this space trying to ensure that it is regulated” said Were.
According to the consultants e-commerce growth in the bloc is being curtailed by inconsistent laws, uneven infrastructure, multiple Regional Economic Community (REC) memberships, and limited policy domestication.
Online trade is further limited by gaps in payment interoperability, digital identity, cybersecurity, and customs modernization which according to COMESA Director of Infrastructure and Logistics Dr. Benard Dzwanda the policy will help to streamline.
“We are also trying to develop model policies and regulatory framework so that there is order. We are dealing with one market which is cross-border and we also want to ensure that no one is exposed or left vulnerable as we transact online,” he added.
In a bid to sustain Kenya’s rapidly growing e-commerce sector which is projected to hit Ksh 175 billion in revenue this year alone, according to Statista, Were said Kenya is now keen on last-mile delivery through the development of the National Address System (NAS).
“The policy instruments are ready and they are now waiting the approval by the cabinet so that we have the bill to be able to facilitate last mile delivery, identification of premises,” he said.
Dr Zwanda said COMESA and other RECs involved in the programme including EAC, SADC,IGAD and IOC will be seeking its extension to help countries localize the policy given that the four-year EGEE-ICT is set to expire in December 2025.
