DR Congo’s admission into the East African Community (EAC) on Tuesday, March 29, has been dubbed as a major development for the region and is expected to grow the bloc’s Gross Domestic Product and expand market size making the bloc home to about 300 million people. With the combined population and GDP of the bloc is expanding the market for goods and services consequently growing the market opportunities for producers located within the EAC. The bloc is also expected to attract more investments across all sectors and will attract more investments as we also create wealth and employment for its people. This will also among other things allow the combination of resources to develop the bloc’s infrastructure, such as the transit corridors running from east to west facilitating cross border movements of goods. This will also benefit both the Citizens of the bloc and DR Congo by providing employment and investment opportunities that come along with this new development. With lower tariffs on goods and the removal of trading restrictions among partner states with goods and services moving freely. Manufacturers in the EAC will benefit from economies of scale, making them increasingly efficient and competitive. For Rwanda, a recent World Bank report showed that the Democratic Republic of Congo has great trade potential with Rwanda, with data from recent years showing growing trade and currently is Rwanda’s biggest regional trading partner. Exports have grown considerably in the last decade, with Rwanda exports to DRC standing at more than to East African Community countries combined. By 2019, Rwanda had exported more goods to the DRC than to the EAC. The main exports to the DRC include livestock and crops, but cross-border trade in services, such as finance, transportation, and wholesale trading, are also important. The bank recommended improvements that could significantly reduce both external and internal trade costs include improving the efficiency of trucking firms and capitalizing on the potential for increased handling of transit trade to and from Democratic Republic of Congo. Going forward, the main role is for the private sector to work closely with the public sector to tap the benefits of this new development in the region. Tariff liberalization under the free trade area, opens a market of nearly 90 million people. This should be an invite for the private sector in Rwanda and the rest of the region to serve the new opportunity. For Rwanda’s private sector, the Made in Rwanda initiative was a starting point in preparation to go beyond the country’s borders. The efforts to meet and adjust quality requirements are among the building blocks to expand beyond the country.
