Enabling the mobility of professionals across borders in East Africa by introducing digital data exchange

Context

The East African Community (EAC) is a regional economic block that unites countries in East Africa. It revolves around four integration pillars: customs union, common market, monitory union and political federation. By 2023, the first two pillars have been signed by all the partner States of EAC which include Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania. Despite the signing of the protocol, there is a lack of necessary instruments for implementation. For instance, while the common market protocol permits free movement of labour, regulated professionals face challenges due to the absence of a standardised approach in recognising qualifications and experiences obtained from other partner states. Consequently, professionals holding valid licenses to practice from their home country must undergo reregistration in the destination country due to the absence of data exchange mechanism. This highlights the main challenge to be addressed by the Digitalisation of East African Trade and Integration (DIGEAT) project.

Objective

The cross-border mobility of professionals in the East African Community has been simplified.

Approach

The project pursues its aims by the following measures:

• Supporting EAC to improve a regulatory framework for cross-border mobility of professionals.
• Establishing a digital tool for seamless data exchange among professional engineers regulators in EAC partner states.
• Improving digital services and analysing processes for increased efficiency.
• Establishing a regulatory structure involving various parties and seeking political support.
• Developing comprehensive guidelines and conducting training sessions for stakeholders to facilitate cross-border data exchange.

Last update: December 2023