Burundi Trade Information Portal
Easy access to information on the requirements and costs of importing and exporting goods goes a long way in simplifying international trade. Trade Information Portals (TIP) have become a useful tool especially for new exporters. By 2018, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda all had national TIPs. Through MARKUP, ITC has successfully worked with the authorities in Burundi to make their national TIP a reality.
The TIP gives access to step-by-step guides on licenses, pre-clearance permits and clearance formalities for the most traded goods within, to and from the country. For each step, the trade portal tells the user where to go, who to see, what documents to bring, what forms to fill, what costs to pay, what law justifies the step and where to complain to in case of a problem. The Burundi Portal was launched on 27 July 2021, with more than 115 participants and was the culmination of 17 months of technical and financial support. The launch was attended by ITC, the EU Delegation to Burundi, EAC, the OBR and the other national stakeholders. In addition to a demonstration of the portal, the event saw each member of the technical team developing the portal receive a Certificate of Achievement. A round table discussion highlighted the merits and benefits the Burundi Trade Portal brings for traders, SMEs and the business climate in Burundi.
Key messages from the discussion included:
- ‘Access to information is a foundational element in the business world. The Burundi Trade Portal provides this information’ - Acting Director of the Burundi Investment Promotion Agency (API)
- ‘The Burundi Trade Portal will improve governance and help eliminate petty corruption’ - Secretary General of the Burundi Federal Chambre of Commerce and Industry (CFCIB)
- ‘The Burundi Trade Portal is a tool that will facilitate regional integration’ - Chargé de projet, EU Delegation to Burundi
- ‘The Burundi Trade Portal will make international trade more fluid’ - Burundi Portal National Coordinator, OBR
- ‘The Burundi Trade Portal will enable the private sector to make recommendations for simplifying trade formalities’ - Secretary General of the National Trade Facilitation Committee
- ‘The Burundi Trade Portal allows Burundi to fulfil its obligations under Art. 1.2 and Art. 10.1 of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement’ – Representative from Trade Facilitation Policy for Business, ITC.
The Portal continues to be updated and now has nearly 20 product groups and more than 50 procedures have already been documented.
The Burundi Trade Information Portal has been added to the EAC Trade Information Portal and can be accessed through: