East African leaders call for regional integration

East African leaders and private-sector executives have called for stronger implementation of regional integration commitments and improved investment conditions to unlock the region's economic potential, boost trade and investment, and create jobs.

Speaking at the inaugural East Africa CEO and Investment Forum 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya on Thursday and Friday, the leaders said that while the region has made progress in establishing the legal and institutional foundations of an integrated market, non-tariff barriers, weak industrial linkages and regulatory fragmentation continue to raise the cost of doing business and limit the benefits of regional integration.

Stephen Patrick Mbundi, secretary-general of the East African Community, said the bloc aims to increase intra-EAC trade from 23 percent to at least 50 percent over the next five years, requiring stronger implementation of regional integration commitments and a more predictable business environment.

"We must move decisively from volumes to value,"he said, noting that manufactured goods account for less than 30 percent of EAC exports, while raw agricultural commodities continue to dominate the regional export basket.

"We need stronger regional value chains that enable partner states to source, process and manufacture across borders, keeping more value within East Africa,"Mbundi said.

He said regional cooperation should enable businesses to source inputs from partner states, process them within the region, and supply finished or semifinished products to the wider EAC market and the continent.

Mbundi cited regional production networks as an example, with raw cotton produced in Uganda, processed in Tanzania, and turned into garments in Rwanda and sold across Africa.

He said the trade policies should be aligned with industrialization goals to ensure the region reduces its reliance on imports of products that can be produced locally.

Mbundi said the EAC has resolved more than 300 nontariff barriers since 2007, but challenges related to infrastructure, transport and logistics, information and communications technology, and access to finance continue to affect the region's competitiveness.

He said addressing these constraints could boost trade competitiveness by 52 percent and increase the value of trade by $63 billion, while stronger services trade, youth skills development and industrial finance would further support regional economic transformation.

Significant opportunities

Beatrice Askul Moe, Kenya's cabinet secretary for East African Community Affairs, said the EAC Common Market and the African Continental Free Trade Area presents significant opportunities, but businesses and investors continue to face barriers, including infrastructure gaps, regulatory challenges and slow implementation of agreed regional measures.

"Our task is to formulate good policies that translate into predictable and competitive business conditions across the region,"she said.

Moe said the private sector remains the main engine of investment and job creation, calling for stronger collaboration among governments, business organizations, investors and development finance institutions to mobilize capital for regional priorities and infrastructure that can expand trade.

Ahmed Farah, executive director of the East African Business Council, or EABC, said the real measure of regional integration is whether businesses can operate across borders more efficiently, predictably and at lower cost.

"East Africa has a large and growing market, but that market only matters if businesses can actually use it,"he said.

Farah said the EABC is working toward a borderless East Africa for trade and investment, with greater emphasis on evidence-based advocacy, regional value-chain development, trade facilitation and investment mobilization.