Brilliant Borders: Kenya's Customs goes digital
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-24)

A new app will save time and money for big businesses and small traders alike, as a longstanding Kenya-UK partnership further improves cross-border trade.

Busia, Monday 24 November 2025 - A smart digital solution to simplify trade, speed up clearance of goods, and modernise border operations has been launched today in Kenya, as part of a 15-year partnership to accelerate trade growth across the country’s borders.

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), in collaboration with TradeMark Africa (TMA) and the British High Commission (BHC), has launched the eCUSTOMS app at the Busia One Stop Border Post (OSBP) on the Kenya-Uganda border. This new platform is designed to make customs declarations faster, paperless, and hassle-free for traders, transporters, and passengers.

The eCUSTOMS app is a game-changer for Kenya and East Africa’s trade facilitation efforts. It aims to cut down clearance time at borders, boost transparency and compliance with regional customs laws, support SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprises) and transporters with easy-to-use digital tools, and strengthen Kenya’s position as a leader in modern, secure, and efficient border management.

The new app will save time and money. It will reduce cumulative truck waiting time by 1,200 hours daily at the Busia OSBP (about one hour per truck) will also save small traders approximately KES 750 per customs declaration – modest from a corporate perspective, but for a woman crossing the border twice per day, it’s the difference between profit and loss.

This is the latest milestone in the 15-year partnership in Kenya between the UK, TMA and KRA to turbocharge cross border trade. In 2018, border clearance time was reduced by at least 79% between Uganda and Kenya after the construction and operationalisation of the Busia OSBP, whilst government revenues substantially increased.

The Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS) has significantly enhanced cargo movement efficiency, reducing transit time from Mombasa to Busia from 15 days to 2.9 days, and from 15 days to 3.1 days on the Mombasa–Malaba route between 2024 and 2025.[1] (#_msocom_1) For every $1 invested in the system, the Integrated Cargo Management System (iCMS) has generated $838 in returns; $570 from customs duties and $267 from other taxes.

Humphrey Wattanga, Commissioner General, KRA, said:

eCUSTOMS will ease cross-border trade and promote a conducive business environment by simplifying customs declarations and modernizing border operations. By enabling paperless and seamless processes, this platform will provide traders with faster, more accessible, and more transparent services. KRA remains committed to continued investment in technology to ensure our processes remain as efficient and user-friendly as possible.

H.E Hailemariam Boshe, Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia and TMA Board Chair, said:

This is a major milestone for integrating trade across East Africa. The more trade we can do across our borders, the more we can grow together. This launch shows how technology and partnerships can unlock regional economic growth.

Dr. Ed Barnett MBE, Chargé d’Affaires, British High Commission Nairobi, said:

This long-term partnership has delivered a solution directly into the hands of small businesses – the hustling backbone of Kenya’s economy. Whether you have a fleet of trucks, your own trusty Probox, or a zippy Boda Boda, our renewed Kenya-UK Strategic Partnership is delivering for businesses of all shapes and sizes – we’re going far, together.

Available on Android and iOS, the app brings benefits to all users. Small-scale traders will be empowered to self-declare cargo through simplified declarations, increasing accuracy, transparency and compliance. Passengers will be able to declare customs and accompanied baggage before arrival for faster clearance. Truck drivers and transporter businesses will experience smooth truck rotation and toll-free movement, being able to easily manage declarations for empty trucks and toll collections.

Most importantly of all, this solution provides a basis for the simplification and growth of trade across Kenya and East Africa, with fast-track declarations for goods valued at $2,000 or less. The solution will also support the delivery of the AfCFTA, increasing the efficiency of trade between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The app can be downloaded on smartphones and used at all border-crossing points.

The launch bolsters a bumper period for economic relations between Kenya and the UK. A historic milestone was recently reached when data revealed that Kenya-UK trade broke the GBP 2 billion mark for the first time ever. It’s another example of the Kenya-UK Strategic Partnership – which was renewed by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in July 2025 in London - delivering real outcomes for the people of Kenya and the UK.

Notes to editors

The App

The app is available for download on Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uni.UNIB70A57D&hl=en-US) and on iOS (https://apps.apple.com/ke/app/ecustoms/id6744238002).

BHC, KRA and TMA’s Work in Kenya

All the projects listed below fall under the REDIT Programme (Regional Economic Development for Investment in Trade). The programme, started in 2017, modernises trade systems by upgrading logistics and border infrastructure, strengthening standards to reduce non-tariff barriers, improving the regulatory environment, and empowering private sector advocacy. To date, the UK Government has invested up to GBP 60 million through REDIT.

One Stop Border Post (OSBP)
- Operationalisation of the Busia OSBP led to reduction in border clearance time by an average of 80% (i.e. an average of two hours and nine minutes) by July 2017, from a baseline average of seven hours and fifty-three minutes (7:53) in 2011. Traffic through the border has increased to an average of 1,200 trucks daily according to Northern Corridor Transport Observatory, 2025. You can find more from this report (https://top.ttcanc.org/uploads/attachments/cmac7tsev00966hoayubfbksa-report-on-border-crossing-time-at-malaba-busia-elegu-nimule-and-katuna-gatuna-borders.pdf).
The Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System

The Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS) is designed to provide cross-border connectivity for customs with implementation currently involving five customs administrations in the EAC (Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, DRC and Burundi) using a common platform to track and monitor cargo during transit across borders and in-country.

The average time to transit between Mombasa Port and Kampala for RECTS monitored consignments during the 2017/19 period averaged 5.2 days compared to the 7.3 days for other consignments.

An independent assessment of TMA established the value of a day saved at $210 per consignment (container). RECTS thus saved an average of $420 for the two days saved per consignment, which when combined with the number of consignments provided a total saving of $68 million over the period.

Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS)
- iCMS automates, integrates, and harmonises KRA customs processes into a single system accessible to exporters, importers and customs agents operating within Kenya, with the goal of enhancing efficiency in customs operations.
*As a main artery in facilitating clearance of import and export of goods into and outside Kenya, digitisation of all of KRA’s customs processes through iCMS has created a conducive environment for importers and exporters - both domestic and foreign - to trade with Kenya.

About TradeMark Africa

TradeMark Africa (TMA) is a leading African Aid-for-Trade organisation, founded in 2010 with the mission to grow intra-African trade and increase Africa’s share in global trade, while helping make trade more inclusive and environmentally sustainable. TMA operates on a not-for-profit basis and is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, France, Ireland, the Mastercard Foundation, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. TMA works closely with regional and continental organisations, national Governments, the private sector, and civil society.

Since its inception, TMA has delivered substantial gains for trade and regional economic integration in East Africa and the Horn of Africa, including a reduction of 16.5% in cargo transit times on the Northern Corridor from Mombasa to Bujumbura, and a reduction of an average of 70% in the time taken to cross selected one stop border posts. TMA has operations in 20 countries across East and West Africa, Southern Africa, and the Horn.

About the UK-Kenya Strategic Partnership 2025-2030

You can find the Kenya-UK Strategic Partnership Joint Statement here: Kenya-UK Strategic Partnership: Joint Statement (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/kenya-uk-strategic-partnership-joint-statement)

Latest UK-Kenya Trade Stats

Kenya Trade and Investment Factsheet: 2025-10-31 Kenya - UK Trade and Investment Factsheet (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6901fd78918e1f940b3cf7c5/kenya-trade-and-investment-factsheet-2025-10-31.pdf)