The Micro Small and Medium Enterprise Authority (MSEA) is the East African Community have been urged to leverage e-commerce as means of increasing market access for their products.
Speakers at the 25th EAC MSMSE Trade Fair currently underway in Nairobi said digital platforms such as the Africa Trade Gateway (ATG) developed by Afreximbank and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat provides a platform for African enterprises to grow their businesses.
“We want to register as many MSMEs as we can be able to verify them, put hem in a digital platform whereby they are able to access markets for their products, opportunities where they are able to export and access financing and support that comes with custom clearance,” said Felix Kabara, Director at Micros Small and Medium Enterprise Authority (MSEA).
The platform which is a one-stop digital trade ecosystem targets to enhance trade integration in Africa by supporting businesses to secure market links, partnerships, access credit and enjoy seamless cross-border payment.
Digitalization of MSMEs is expected to improve their competitiveness and accelerate trade integration in the region and Africa.
“There are several strategies that can be used to increase the competitiveness of MSMEs namely digitalization, product and service innovation, business process innovation and marketing and sales innovation,” said Emmernece Ntahonkuriye , Burundian Ambassador to Kenya.
During the marking of Burundi Day at the trade fair, Ntahonkuriye said her country is committed to enhance its bilateral relation with Kenya which covers agriculture, trade, education, sports and culture.
The 25th EAC MSEA Summit which ends on November 16, bring together at least 3000 MSMEs from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Somalia.
