East African entrepreneurs need a level playing field in the new Common Market

Guest post by: Fiona Mati
Become an Author

Free PDF Download
Hire Purchase Financing for Small Business - By Fiona Mati

The regional integration of the East Africa community is finally here. With the promise of trade barriers falling, for East African entrepreneurs this bodes well in a common market of 130 million people. After the collapse of the East African Community in 1977 due to political wrangling, there is a renewed sense of hope of expanded trade in a wider market. So far the revamped East African Community has set about the arduous task of harmonizing regulations to take into account the need to boost cross-border business and investment.

The Doing Business in East Africa 2010 report however indicates significant issues concerning the capacity of the member-state entrepreneurs to compete on a level playing field with each other. Despite the efforts at harmonizing laws pertaining to business and coalescing tax policies, internal barriers to enterprise will affect the number of entrepreneurs competing on the common market.

For instance the ease of venturing into enterprise is easiest in Rwanda with 2 procedures and a registered business in 3 days. Compare this with Kenya and Tanzania with 12 procedures and the business registered in 34 and 29 days respectively.

Then there is the crippling cost of starting a business where in Burundi the cost is 151.6% of income per capita in comparison with Kenya or Tanzania where the cost is 37%. And even though Kenya leads in facilitating licensing with 11 procedures for the entire region, the process is still time consuming. It takes 120 days Kenya and 143 in Uganda compared with the rest of member states where the process of procuring business licenses takes well over 200 days.

It is hoped the streamlining of tax revenue collection will facilitate cross-border enterprise. However the problem of enforcing contracts continues to act as a barrier to profitable trade. Where in Rwanda it takes 260 days to resolve contractual disagreements; in Burundi the process takes a whopping 832 days! Thus there still remains a lot to be done so that all East African entrepreneurs can truly benefit from the Common Market.

Go to Africa, Young Investor

17.0 What Needs to be Done - Mainstreaming Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in Africa

4.0 The African Entrepreneur Race/Ethnicity: Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in Africa

5.1 Insufficient investments in Africa have hindered the deepening of diversification: Economic Report on Africa 2007

18.0 Conclusion: Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in Africa

Cheetah Index to Premiere Soon!

II. How Can MicroFinance Succeed In Africa?

SME's - collectivism yes or no

“For god’s sake, please stop the aid” …..to Africa?

Youth and Entrepreneurship: Part 1

SME's - protectionism does it help?

SME's - in Africa the skills challenge grows

The role of human and physical capital in growth: The Effects of Human Capital on Economic Development

African designers go global

Conducive Environments for Leveraging Economic Opportunity in Africa

VII D. Promote Institutional Investors: PROMOTING STOCK MARKET DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA

SME's - does protectionism help

IV. A. Private Traders: THE ROLE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR

Africa’s ICT Leaders: Present and Forecasted

3.0 The African Entrepreneur Personal Traits: Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in Africa

Home > African-Accounts > Fiona Mati > East African entrepreneurs need a level playing field in the new Common Market > Google +

Free PDF Download
Hire Purchase Financing for Small Business - By Fiona Mati

About the Author: Fiona Mati

RSS for Fiona's articles - Visit Fiona's website
Fiona Mati is the CEO of the Youth Interactive Portal for Enterprise (Yipe.org), which hosts an online portal that provides East African youth entrepreneurs with free information and resources so that they are in a better position to access finance, learn about new business opportunities, and can easily register their businesses. The portal is the first of its kind in East Africa specifically targeting the youth, and provides free business skills training, a directory of sources of startup finance as well as step by step guides for business registration. On a wider scale, the portal also provides valuable information to aspiring entrepreneurs, students, finance institutions, government policy makers and development agencies seeking to promote sustainable wealth creation.
Click here to visit Fiona's website.

More from Fiona Mati
KopiBure An Innovative Student Advertising Business
Testing a Business Ventures Viability
Toxic Business Africaas Scavenger Entrepreneurs
When The Brewing Business Turns Deadly
Entrepreneur Profile Sospeter Amenya

Share this article. Fund someone's dream.

Share this post and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

East African entrepreneurs need a level playing field in the new Common Market

Related Articles

Related Forum Posts

Share this article. Fund someone's dream.


Name:
Email: