Stories

At the beginning of 2021, the Incubator for Integration and Development in East Africa (IIDEA) and the Intra-Regional Trade Facility (IRTF) invited private sector and civil society organisations in the East African Community Partner States to submit innovative ideas for small-scale projects. IIDEA concentrated on the areas of digitalisation/ICT, health and stakeholder engagement on the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). IRTF invited pro...

2nd – 12th December 2021 Mwanza (Tanzania)Promoting quality and innovation to enhance EAC MSME competitiveness and post-COVID-19 recovery From the 2nd to the 6th December 2021, the Incubator for Integration and Development in East Africa (IIDEA) and the Intra-Regional Trade Facility (IRTF) will participate in the 21st EAC MSMEs Trade Fair and Exhibition at Mwanza Rock City Grounds in Tanzania with partners from the private sector and civi...

Have you ever tried to get hold of information on the nearest doctor for special treatment or the closest COVID-19 test location while traveling? There is a chance that this information was hard to get or possibly not readily available at all. Well, we’ve got good news for you. With support of the Incubator for Integration and Development in East Africa (IIDEA), EANNASO (Eastern Africa National Networks of AIDS and Health Service Organisatio...

Did you hear about the KilimoMart app which links small-scale farmers in Kenya and Uganda to the regional EAC market? KilimoMart is the result of discussions among small-scale farmers in Uganda who were feeling that they were not benefiting from EA integration sufficiently. They were hearing about integration, but they were not feeling that it brought them any advantage. Hence, the idea to develop an online platform connecting small-scale farm...

“The decision to formalise my business was a turning point for my little business. I now have a business address and my suppliers and customers know exactly where to find me. And being faithful, often time suppliers give me goods on credit and I pay them back after selling the goods.” This statement, made by Esther John, a maize trader at the Isebania-Sirari border between Kenya and Tanzania, shows the great benefits that women cross-border t...

While rural youths are increasingly turning their backs on farming and move to cities to find employment, Shambani Solutions in partnership with Frigoken Ltd developed a project to foster opportunities for youth in rural areas, taking advantage of the opportunities arising from cross-border trade within the East African Community (EAC). They were able to create a stable income for more than 500 youths participating in Green Beans for Youth Job Cr...

There are over 20,000 tourist guides in the East African Community (EAC) region. Most of them have been trained through associations, some went to vocational schools, others trained on the job as they went along. There is no mutually agreed standard for tourist guides in the EAC. Recognising the importance of tourist guides and their critical role in marketing East Africa as a single tourist destination, as promoted by the EAC, addresses vario...

EACIIDEA partner Campfire Logs Guild will this year start its grand tour of the East African Community countries from Dar es Salaam, going on to Tanga, Mombasa, Nairobi, Kampala, Kigali, Bujumbura, Kigoma, Dodoma and end at Arusha, the seat of the EAC. The Tour d'EAC 2021 will take place over a 55-day period, starting in Dar es Salaam on August 1st. Over the following 55 days, Tour d’EAC participants will ride almost 6,000 kilometers through b...

IIDEA is proud to announce that Sauti Africa trade and information platform, which started of as an IIDEA project in 2016, has added yet another success story to its history. Sauti's trade information services are now available and accessible to anyone, anywhere via WhatsApp. Message "hello" on WhatsApp to +254 20 389 3576 and you'll be able to explore our free business and social services information, tailored for farmers, traders, and small...

Following the call for idea proposals, the IIDEA Team received a wealth of proposals which then underwent a first screening process. According to the selection criteria, all proposed projects have to be regional in character, that means involve project partners from at least two of the six EAC Partner States and they have to refer to the stipulations of the East African Community Common Market Protocol. Out of the 54 ideas submitted, 35 advanced ...