Small and medium enterprises in the region have cited lack of involvement in policy negotiations at the East African Community level and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) level as a challenge holding them back from exporting their services.

Through Sandra Uwera, the Comesa Business Council coordinator, the operators said their inclusion in ongoing negotiations at regional level would enable them export their services across the region and beyond.

Uwera was speaking at a session dubbed, "Trade in services: The Next Frontier,” at the 2014 World Export Development Forum that wrapped up in Kigali yesterday.

The session sought to explore the growing opportunities for developing small and medium enterprises involved in exporting services.

Comesa Business Council is a business member organisation that represents the interests of the private sector in 19 countries, including Rwanda.

Based at the Comesa Secretariat in Lusaka, Zambia, the council has three work groups in the service sector that look into the interests of the banking sector, insurance and tourism sectors.

"At the policy level, the service sector is not included in the ongoing negotiations in the trade and services committee in the East African Community and Comesa,” Uwera said.

"It is important that the private sector be part of a policy formulation process and in the liberalisation of the schedules of commitment in the service industry.”

Govt urged on private sector

She urged various operators to be involved in the policy process at country level as most governments had avenues to facilitate dialogue between the two parties.

"I would like to implore the private sector to go and be part of the process. At country level, the governments and private sector require dialogue that engages both parties. But more can be done by engaging apex business associations,” Uwera pointed out.

She also said some services providers were falling back for lack of quality management during service provision.

"Quality management is important even in services; most would imagine that it stops at goods. African consumers are urban consumers, they go for taste and preference and want something of high quality but within an affordable price,” she said.

The success stories in the service industries are based on quality, efficiency, cost, time and assurance, she said.

In the Comesa region, the service sector contributes up to 40 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product.Speaking at the session, Hubert Ruzibiza, the head of service development at the Rwanda Development Board, said another challenge frustrating the service industry was inadequate skills.

Citing the example of Marriott Hotel that is currently under construction in Kigali, Ruzibiza said some investors had to take their staff out of the country for training.

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