TradeMark Africa (TMA) is a leading African non-profit, Aid-for-Trade organisation founded in 2010, with a mission to grow intra-African trade, increase Africa’s share in global trade, and make trade more environmentally sustainable. TMA operates across 20 countries in Africa and is funded by: Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, France, the Gates Foundation, Ireland, the Mastercard Foundation, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. TMA works closely with regional and continental organisations, national Governments, the private sector, and civil society.

Since its inception, TMA has contributed to substantial gains for trade and regional economic integration in East Africa and The Horn of Africa, including a reduction of 16.5% in cargo transit times on the Northern Corridor from Mombasa to Bujumbura, and an average 70% reduction in the time taken to cross selected one stop border posts.  

TMA’s work is organised around portfolios, each of which seeks to resolve a specific systematic bottleneck relating to trade facilitation as follows: 

TMA Trade Facilitation Portfolios 

1. The Trade and Investment Environment portfolio works in strengthening national and regional trade and investment frameworks by addressing non-tariff and technical barriers to trade, improving the collection and use of trade data and market intelligence, and advancing evidence-based analysis and advocacy to inform, influence, and support coherent, inclusive, and effective policy formulation and implementation.
2. Under the Quality and Value of Traded Goods portfolio, TMA focuses on strengthening regulatory and institutional SPS and quality infrastructure frameworks to support governments and private sector export objectives. It enhances delivery systems for SPS and SQI services and builds robust compliance frameworks that enable producers and exporters to meet domestic, regional, and international standards, safeguard market access, protect consumers, and improve the competitiveness of traded goods.
3. The Physical Connectivity portfolio focuses on improving trade efficiency by enhancing port and border productivity and connectivity, upgrading critical port and border infrastructure, and supporting the development of smart facilities and modern border systems. It also invests in logistics facilities and equipment to reduce transit times, lower trade costs, and strengthen the seamless movement of goods across national and regional corridors.
4. The Digital Trade portfolio supports the development of enabling digital trade policies, the digitisation of trade and border processes, and the implementation of integrated corridor and border management systems. It also advances e-commerce regulatory frameworks to facilitate secure, transparent, and efficient cross-border transactions, strengthen regional integration, and promote inclusive participation of businesses in digital and cross-border trade. 
5. The Resilience and Inclusive Trade portfolio advances inclusion by reducing structural barriers that hinder women and youth participation in trade, hence ensuring trade systems, policies, and corridors generate broad-based, equitable, and sustainable economic opportunities for all.
6. Finally, the Green Trade portfolio advances green policy development, supports resilient infrastructure and modal shifts toward lower-carbon transport, promotes greener goods and services, and catalyses innovative green financial products. 

Together, these interventions help reduce environmental footprints, strengthen climate resilience across trade corridors, and align trade growth with sustainability and climate-transition objectives. More on TMA’s results and impact stories around each of these portfolios can be accessed on its website. 

TMA Strategy 2023 to 2030
While continuing to leverage its core expertise in trade facilitation, TMA has evolved its focus to harness the potential of digitalisation, support African exporters to pioneer low carbon trade, address the core trade factors behind food security and promote resilient trade. In its current strategy, some of the targets include: Deliver 400,000 jobs, increase the value African exports to the rest of the world from $500billion to $650 billion and leverage green investments to a tune of $180 billion by 2030. 

To find out more, please visit the TMA website at www.trademarkafrica.com