Empowering Women and Youth Across Borders: Veronica’s Journey and the Promise of the AfCFTA
“Tensions are very high,” warns Veronica Auma, as we navigate the busy, muddy paths of Soko Matope Market in Busia. Veronica, just 27, is the Youth Representative of the Cross-Border Women Traders Association — an informal group of over 400 women traders, including 30 youth, whose businesses stretch across the East African borders.
A trader of dagaa (small fish) and other fish varieties sourced from Lake Turkana, Veronica started with just KES 15,000 seven years ago. Today, she worries she could lose up to KES 10 million in a single season due to arbitrary border restrictions. Her most lucrative market lies in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but inconsistent rules, unclear customs procedures, and selective enforcement continue to hinder her trade.
“We feel that foreign traders — especially from Uganda and Congo — don’t face the same restrictions we do in Kenya,” Veronica laments.
Her concerns are echoed by many. Patricia, another trader, adds, “There are days we spend over 48 hours waiting for clearance, while our goods go bad. We have families to feed and bills to pay.”
At the heart of the challenge lies a tangle of trade regulations — rules that vary from one side of the border to the other. While the EAC Simplified Trade Regime (STR) allows up to $2,000 worth of goods under informal trade, enforcement remains patchy. “The rules are there,” an officer from the State Department of Trade admits, “but traders often aren’t incentivized to declare goods formally. Implementation varies, and securitization of some rules means that interpretations differ — leaving traders stuck.”
Recognizing these challenges, UNDP Kenya, in partnership with the State Department of Trade, launched an ambitious engagement process aimed at understanding and supporting cross-border trade for women and youth. They held consultations with 331 women entrepreneurs from six border towns and county trading hubs including Busia, Namanga, Isibania, Holili, Moyale, Meru, Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisumu, and Kisii.
These discussions went beyond policy — they painted a human picture. Women spoke of their difficulties obtaining necessary documents, navigating customs, accessing financial support, and securing reliable market information. Many highlighted the physical and emotional toll of juggling trading responsibilities with caregiving roles at home.
These stories, grounded in lived experience, are now feeding into a national conference and, eventually, the Protocol on Women in Trade being developed under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Once ratified and integrated, the protocol will help unlock fairer, safer, and more profitable trade opportunities for women like Veronica.
UNDP together with other stakeholders, together with the Government of Kenya, are at the forefront of ensuring that these voices are not only heard but turned into tangible policy outcomes. In addition to consultations, the project has mapped potential partners and institutions who can offer complementary support, including training, micro-financing, and digitized border procedures.
The goal is clear: to ensure that women and youth traders are not left behind as Africa’s largest free trade zone unfolds. That means designing a system where informal doesn’t mean invisible, and where small-scale traders like Veronica are treated not as exceptions — but as integral players in regional trade and economic resilience.
Veronica is hopeful. “We are ready. We just want a level playing field.”
As the process moves toward regional and national policy change, it carries with it not just protocols and papers — but the aspirations of thousands of women building livelihoods along Africa’s vibrant, complicated, and promising borders.
About the Authors
Julius Coredo is the Governance and Inclusive Growth Manager at UNDP Kenya
David Ombee is a Communications professional at UNDP Kenya.
