The project focuses on the promotion of cross border trade between DRC and Uganda. Cross border trade (CBT) refers to the business of importing and/or exporting of commodities/products from one country to another for sale. In this project, CBT is used to refer to only small scale traders who carry consignments of less than USD2000. CBT is done by the majority of people living near border areas although some come from inland places.
Estimates show that CBT makes a significant contribution to overall trade in the region with the ratio of export earnings estimated at 15% in 2013 and 14% in 2016 (Uganda Statistics)
Main commodities under cross border trade include: agricultural produce aiding food security; manufactured goods/food stuff; clothing; and other electronic equipment. Mostly it is considered ‘informal’ or ‘illegal’ just because it is never recorded in statistics, or sometimes never cross the border.