The appeal was made during the 32nd General Assembly of the African Organization for Standardisation (ARSO) in Mombasa, where discussions centre on eliminating technical trade barriers to lift intra-African trade. The event began on August 24 and will continue till August 28, 2026.
Kenya’s standards agency says African nations should harmonise trade regulations, with intra-African commerce at just 16 per cent.
For exporters and manufacturers, fragmented rules and conflicting national standards add friction to cross-border goods movement.
Delegates from 44 African nations are discussing technical trade barriers at ARSO’s five-day Mombasa summit.
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) said intra-African commerce currently stands at just 16 per cent. KEBS managing director Esther Ngari noted that fragmented regulatory frameworks continue to hinder cross-border trade and argued that conflicting national standards create unnecessary friction, frustrating goods movement across Africa, according to media reports.
Hosted by the Kenyan government through KEBS, the five-day summit brought together delegates from 44 African nations. The summit’s theme is ‘Standards enabling Intra-Africa trade under the AfCFTA — One Certificate Working for You.’
A survey cited during the meeting highlighted the high cost of intra-African logistics, finding that shipping a container overland from Nairobi to Kampala costs more than transporting it by sea from Shanghai to Mombasa.
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