World Chambers of Commerce have honoured a Tanzanian-designed scheme to use cell phones to identify and help overturn barriers to free trade across East Africa.
The scheme won second prize in the World Chambers of Commerce competition for the best project amongst a field of other groundbreaking innovations from Britain, China, the Slovak Republic and Turkey.
The short messaging system (SMS) online non-tariff barrier (NTB) reporting and monitoring mechanism was developed by the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA) to get the business community not just to grumble about NTBs but to log them, report them and get them referred to those with the power to overturn them.
The scheme has been supported by TradeMark East Africa, TMEA; a multi-donor-funded organization that seeks to streamline EAC trade to cut the cost of doing business and grow prosperity through strong economic integration. The support is part the TMEA Tanzania’s programme to strengthen private sector advocacy for the removal of NTBs through effectively reporting and monitoring of their existence.
This system is the first of its kind in East Africa and is a beacon in the battle against NTBs, regulatory or official hurdles which slow free commerce and add to the cost of transporting goods to the region, which already has the highest transport costs in the world.
It is a great pleasure to see that the in-house innovation can stretch its wings to the international community. The recognition that the NTBs SMS and online reporting and monitoring system has received is evidence that what we do, as a private sector, in creating favorable business environment adds value to the lives of people; not only because the world can see it but most importantly, that we contribute towards improving people’s welfare by making it easier to report and for authorities to monitor and eliminate all barriers hindering trade flow.
The award was announced during the World Chambers Congress held in Doha, Qatar last month. World Chambers Competition is the only global awards programme to recognize the most innovative projects undertaken by chambers of commerce and industry from around the world. The Competition provides a unique opportunity for chambers to showcase originality & ingenuity, and also demonstrate determination to strengthen SMEs, improve services provided to members. The competition takes place every after two years.
TCCIA acts as the private sector focal point on NTBs and gathers evidence so that it can lobby for their elimination. The system is also a source of information for policy makers who are directly responsible for some of those very NTBs.