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Background and Introduction

The East African Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (EACCIA) has been in existence since September 2005, when it was legally incorporated in Nairobi, Kenya. It was formally launched in Arusha, Tanzania, in February 2006. Its main objective, upon incorporation, was to lobby for the creation of a conducive environment for cross border trade and investment, within the context of the East African Community protocols, viz: the East African Customs Union and the East African Common Market. Broadly speaking, its main objective is to lobby the regional governments for the creation of a conducive business environment. The chamber is expected to dialogue with various organs of the East African Community, national, as well as international institutions, impacting on business to facilitate this. Apart from its advocacy role, the EACCIA is also undertakes some development projects on behalf of its constituent Chambers.

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Mr. Toufiq Salim TURKY

Board Chairman

Mr. Charles N. KAHUTHU

CEO

Who we are:
EACCIA is the apex Chamber with the mandate to facilitate the work of the national chambers of commerce and industry in the East African Community member states. It was legally incorporated in Nairobi, Kenya, on 22nd September 2005 and formally launched in Arusha, Tanzania, in February 2006. This was as a result of an MOU which had been signed in 2003 by the three chambers of commerce of the then East African Community member states.

Membership:
Our membership currently includes the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA), Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI), Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UNCCI), Zanzibar National Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ZNCCIA), Private Sector Federation of Rwanda (PSFR) and the Chambre Federale de Commerce et d’Industrie du Burundi (CFCIB). We also collaborate very closely with the South Sudan Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (SSCCIA), Somaliland Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (SLCCIA), as well as the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PACCI), the continental chamber which is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

EACCIA has now expanded its outreach to beyond East African Community by inviting membership from Comoros, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Madagascar and the Seychelles. Mozambique formally joined EACCIA in April, 2019.

Our Values

Our Mission

Our mission is to strengthen the private sector in East Africa through influencing policy at national and community level, supporting national chambers and strengthening cooperation and partnership between the public and private sectors across the East African Community.

Our Goal

Articulating well developed proposals for removing constraints facing the business, industrial and agricultural communities; Promoting unity amongst stakeholders within the private sector; and Collaborating closely with Governments to make the East African Community more attractive to investors.

Our Vision

EACCIA will be a credible partner for government in the creation of a business environment conducive to the development of a strong private sector throughout the East African Community.

EACCIA Strategic Vision and Goals

A strategic direction for the EACCIA was agreed upon in 2006, outlining the role of the EACCIA, its vision and mission, as well as its future strategic objectives. Although this was not fully developed at that time, the goals and strategic objectives still remain as the pillars of EACCIA and include: Trade Promotion and Facilitation, with a view to ensuring that the regional integration of East Africa is realized; Investment Mobilization; Improvement of the Business Environment in favour of the Private Sector; Promoting the dissemination of business information to the national chambers in the EAC member states; Strengthening and developing SMEs and other informal sectors in the region; Facilitating the provision of Business Development and related Advisory Services; Undertaking capacity building interventions to the various national chambers of commerce in the region, in order to ensure that they are able to respond to the needs of their members; Promoting Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), particularly in the delivery of regional infrastructure programmes and projects, with a view to discouraging capital flight out of the region.

EACCIA Outputs for achieving Trade Facilitation Objective

Trade facilitation is a key aspect of the functions of chambers of commerce worldwide. EACCIA ensures that other constituent chambers are responsive and ready to deliver this objective. The outputs to be delivered from trade facilitation are many and EACCIA is better positioned to handle issues that shall ensure that the environment in which national chambers are operating is conducive, to better serve their members.

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Why Creote

Affordable & Flexible

This seeks to improve the business environment through harmonization of policies, laws and regulations, so that the private sector can be competitive. Issues to be raised that cut across the region, as being prioritized during the inter-vention are how ready the EACCIA is in driving the following: Poor Trade Facilitation; Non Tariff Barriers (NTBs), such as weighbridges, customs documentation, non-harmonized standards, work permits, business licenses among others; inadequate skilled labour and entrepreneurship skills; and Illicit Trade.

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Enhancing Regional Public Private Dialogue (PPD) and Partnership:

This seeks to enhance regional public-private sector dialogue and partnerships through refocusing public institutions so as to make them more supportive of private sector development (PSD), through stable and predictable policies and having in place transparent and clear business rules. In addition, it seeks to promote pub-lic-private consultative mechanisms by marshalling political will. Issues con- sidered under this output include inadequate institutionalized public-private dialogue (including lack of a driver of the process); lack of a regional public-private sector dialogue framework.

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Capacity Building for Trade Support Institu- tions in the Region:

Capacity building within the EACCIA envisages restructuring national Chambers, to enable them to adopt a regional rather than a national focus. The strategy calls for effective support services comprising training, consultancy and advisory services, marketing services, technological services, information dissemination, developing entrepreneurial skills, enhancing access to financial services and promotion of busi- ness linkages. It also calls for support learning processes, through study tours and trade fairs whereby enterprises learn from the experience of others; and conferences and professional meetings, on a regional basis.

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Dedicated Team

Our Board

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Board Chairman
Toufiq Salim Turky
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CEO
Charles Kahuthu