Cross Border Trade for Peace The key problem this project seeks to address is the lack of social cohesion and trust amongst border communities between Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and Burundi. The project aims to strengthen cross border trade as a vehicle for greater understanding and interdependence between divided communities across borders. In so doing, it addresses the exclusion of women small scale cross border traders from different backgrounds from decision-making on regional economic issues contributing to peace and security.
The project builds on the successes of Alertâ€™s previous Sida funded Tushiriki Wote project (2014 â€“ 2018), where we have supported women small-scale cross border traders to organise into groups and structures to both save and advocate for change in their communities and regionally. Come of the successes that we managed to achieve under the cross border trade component of that project included:
- increased economic resources for women small scale cross border traders1
- strengthened business skills of women small scale cross border traders
- increased confidence of women small scale cross border traders in themselves and in dealing with authorities, family members and the community; greater credibility in the eyes of their families and communities
- increased engagement with other women small scale traders from across the border
- better relationships between women small scale cross border traders and border authorities

In December 2018, International Alert signed a contract with the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) in Kinshasa to implement the 4-year project â€œMupaka Shamba Letuâ€, â€œThe border our livelihoodâ€. The project aims to strengthen the capacities of women small-scale cross-border traders across 4 border crossing points between DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi to jointly challenge dynamics that contribute to conflict in their communities and use their influence to promote greater social cohesion and regional cooperation. "To strengthen the capacities of women small-scale cross-border traders in border areas of DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi to jointly challenge gender dynamics that contribute to conflict in their communities and the wider region and use their influence to promote greater social cohesion and regional cooperation".

In order to achieve this specific objective, we will work on four key results areas. The first, focuses on strengthening womenâ€™s power to influence decisions at the household and community levels, which will create an enabling environment at a very local level which will ensure that women traders can continue to grow their businesses and use this influence for change with the support of their family and community structures. The second result focuses on strengthening womenâ€™s economic empowerment and advocacy potential by structuring them into cooperatives and associations, vehicles not only for saving small sums of money to invest in their businesses but also for bringing together women traders from divided communities to build trust and understanding. The third result focuses on women traders coming together with other business actors to strengthen their networks and cooperation and in so doing recognise and harness their influence as business actors to push for greater social cohesion and regional cooperation. The final result area focuses on legislation and advocacy activities, strengthening women traders understanding of relevant legislative trade frameworks, strengthening the understanding of customs and border officials of these frameworks and undertaking joint analysis and advocacy at national and regional level. All four results build on the theory of change that if women traders have greater access to economic resources and are able to use the influence they have through this to push for greater understanding between communities and across borders, then peace across the region can be consolidated through greater cooperation and social cohesion. The project will work with a total of 800 women small scale cross border traders, 400 spouses of women traders, 14 cooperatives, 32 Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) and over 960 border officials and authorities across all 4 borders.

These women small scale traders will be new to the project â€“ that is to say, they will not have been involved in any activities under Tushiriki Wote. The decision to target new groups of women small scale traders has been taken in order to scale up the number of women who have benefited from Alertâ€™s peace through cross border trade approach. We will continue to make links with existing cooperatives and associations of women small scale traders who we supported under Tushiriki Wote, in order to strengthen linkages between the beneficiaries of Tushiriki Wote and Mupaka Shamba Letu. However, we will not provide any training or funding support to the previous women small scale trader groups in order to encourage their continued independence and autonomy. Targeting new groups of women traders is necessary in order to encourage the â€œpebble in the poolâ€ scale-up effect we are looking for, so that a network of organised women small scale trader groups can be gradually built and consolidated over the course of the next 4 years. "To contribute to a more inclusive society, improved cooperation and sustainable peace in the Great Lakes region of Africa"

This project seeks to contribute to a more inclusive society in border areas of DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi, which will in turn lead to a sustainable peace in the region. 
The project focuses on strengthening the role that women traders living in these border communities can play in facilitating greater understanding between communities, through cross border trade. Cross border trade creates interdependencies between communities across borders. Women small-scale cross border traders play an important role in strengthening these interdependencies â€“ yet they are excluded from decision making on key trade, peace and security issues at the provincial, national and regional levels which directly affect them. Moreover, because they face severe challenges in growing their businesses and often come up against social norms that limit their economic, social and political empowerment, they are not currently able to best use the influence they generate through their business to create the linkages between communities and across borders. Under the previous Tushiriki Wote project, women traders were able to organise themselves into groups and structures where they could both save and advocate for change in their communities and at regional levels. This project builds on these achievements and will support women traders to harness the influence they have built to bring about more peaceful and inclusive approaches to decision making at household, community and regional levels, thereby building understanding and greater social cohesion amongst these groups and reducing levels of conflict and violence amongst communities and across borders.