Uganda has called for closer cooperation between governments and the private sector to remove barriers to cross-border digital trade and help African businesses access a wider market.
The Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Sanjay Tanna, made the call ahead of the KTA Annual Africa Technology and Intellectual Property Symposium, scheduled for October 22–23 at Marriott Kampala.
Speaking to journalists at the Uganda Media Centre, Tanna said Uganda must help shape the policies and systems governing Africa’s growing digital economy, arguing that businesses need reliable payments, efficient delivery services and predictable rules to trade across borders.
“Our businesses need to reach customers beyond our borders, receive payment reliably, deliver their products efficiently and compete in a market they can trust,” Tanna said.
The symposium will bring together policymakers, regulators, business leaders, innovators and African e-commerce associations to discuss how to build an integrated African digital market under the theme, Building Africa’s Digital Single Market: The Role of Government and the Private Sector in Achieving Regional Integration.
The discussions are expected to focus on practical challenges facing businesses that sell goods and services online, including cross-border payments, customs procedures, digital taxation, consumer protection, cybersecurity and intellectual property rights.
Tanna said the initiative should translate Africa’s regional integration ambitions into opportunities for Ugandan enterprises, particularly micro, small and medium-sized businesses, women entrepreneurs and young people.
Digital commerce, he said, could help cooperatives find new buyers, manufacturers reach regional distribution networks and creative entrepreneurs earn income from their intellectual property beyond Uganda’s borders.
The minister linked the agenda to the Ministry of Trade’s 2025–2030 Strategic Plan and Uganda’s Tenfold Growth Strategy, which aims to expand the economy to $500 billion by 2040. Both initiatives emphasise value addition, export market access, enterprise development and the role of science, technology and innovation in economic transformation.
Regional integration faces practical hurdles
Uganda’s participation in the initiative is tied to its membership of the East African Community (EAC) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which provide frameworks for expanding trade and economic integration across the region and continent.
However, the minister said integration commitments must translate into simpler procedures and more predictable arrangements for businesses operating across borders.
A trader selling products online, for example, should be able to understand the applicable rules, complete the required documentation and move eligible goods across borders without unnecessary delays.
Achieving that will require coordination among trade ministries, customs authorities, financial regulators, communications agencies and data protection institutions.
At the continental level, the AfCFTA’s Protocol on Digital Trade provides a framework for developing common principles and rules to reduce barriers, improve interoperability and establish a secure environment for online commerce.
The symposium will feature a discussion with Wamkele Keabetswe Mene, secretary-general of the AfCFTA Secretariat, connecting the Kampala meeting to efforts to implement the continent-wide trade agreement.
Payments, taxation and intellectual property on the agenda
Participants will also examine how payment systems, logistics networks and customs processes can better serve smaller businesses and e-commerce consignments.
Taxation is another issue expected to feature in the discussions, including value-added tax, digital services taxation and customs charges. Tanna said these matters should be examined in a way that considers public revenue needs alongside competitiveness and the cost of compliance for businesses.
The discussions on payments and data will also need to respect the responsibilities of relevant regulators and the safeguards required to maintain public trust.
Intellectual property protection is another key concern, particularly for innovators and creative businesses seeking to sell their products and services across multiple African markets.
The organisers envisage a memorandum of understanding between African e-commerce associations and a jointly developed policy paper outlining private-sector priorities for an integrated digital market. These remain proposed outcomes of the symposium.
Tanna urged participants to produce specific recommendations, identify the institutions responsible for implementing them and establish a clear process for follow-up.
The symposium is being convened with support from KTA Advocates, the Centre for Law, Policy and Innovation Initiative, the Uganda Law Society, the Alliance for Digital Trade, E-Mobility and Couriers Uganda, and GIZ, including its Pan-African e-Commerce Initiative.
Other supporting institutions include the National Social Security Fund, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, CIPESA, Embiro Technologies, the US Embassy in Uganda, Live Traces Producing and Quad A.
Tanna said Uganda should use the meeting to develop practical proposals that enable businesses to trade across Africa, create jobs and retain more value from their innovations.
For businesses, the central challenge is whether the proposed digital market can make cross-border transactions easier, safer and more affordable, particularly for smaller enterprises that have limited resources to navigate complex trade procedures.
