As global supply-chains tighten and East African trade grows, Kenya has rolled out a new digital initiative, the E-Customs app, aimed at speeding up customs clearance at border posts.
The launch of an E-Customs mobile application at key border points — beginning with the Busia One-Stop Border Post — could be a game-changer for small traders, truckers and businesses relying on cross-border commerce.
Reports emerged on Wednesday that Kenya Revenue Authority, working with the British High Commission and TradeMark Africa, launched a new E-Customs mobile application to streamline customs clearance at border points — starting with the Busia One-Stop Border Post.
Clearing borders, cutting queues
For many traders, the customs process has for years been a bureaucratic bottleneck. Delays at checkpoints, repeated documentation, and manual procedures added time and cost to every shipment.
The new E-Customs app promises to digitize the paperwork, allowing importers and exporters to submit documents and declarations online, track their cargo, and clear goods faster.
Small scale cross-border traders — especially those operating between Kenya and Uganda — stand to benefit the most. Faster clearance means reduced demurrage fees, less time wasted in transit, and quicker turnover for goods.
How it works
Under the system:
-
Traders upload necessary documents — invoices, certificates of origin, shipping manifests — directly through the app.
-
The system verifies classification, computes duties and flags any restrictions automatically, reducing room for delays or corruption.
-
Once cleared, traders receive digital notifications allowing trucks to move rapidly through border corridors.
Officials believe this will cut processing time by more than half and ease congestion at busy posts like Busia, Malaba and Namanga.
What traders and SMEs say
For many small-scale entrepreneurs, the app offers hope. Esther, a women trader who moves farm produce to Uganda and back, says: “In the past, I spent days waiting for clearance; sometimes goods spoil or lose value. With this app, I expect to save time and maybe pass lower costs to customers.”
Others say reduced clearance costs will allow them to expand trade networks and access new markets.
Read More: https://thevoice.co.ke/richest-125-kenyans-richer-than-42-6-million-oxfam/
Transporters and logistics firms are also optimistic — shorter border wait-times could mean more trips per week, improved turnover, and less idle time for trucks.
Challenges ahead: digital divide and implementation capacity
Despite the promise, obstacles remain. Not all traders have smartphones or reliable internet — particularly those operating in rural border towns.
Digital literacy is limited, and many use paper-based ledgers. There are also concerns about how quickly border and customs officials will adapt to the new system, and whether existing corruption dynamics will persist underground.
Trade-associations are already calling for training programmes to help small traders adapt; some suggest mobile-friendly clinics at border towns, user-support desks, and even government-sponsored data subsidies.
Bigger economic implications
If scaled successfully, E-Customs could make Kenya a more attractive hub for regional trade, boosting import-export volumes, lowering costs of goods, and strengthening small and medium-sized businesses.
It could also reduce pressure on transport corridors and cut carbon emissions associated with long border delays.
For import-dependent industries — manufacturing, retail, agribusiness — faster customs clearance may translate to more efficient supply chains, lower production costs, and competitiveness in regional markets.
Much will depend on how well the rollout is managed. Key areas to watch: user adoption, technical support, consistent internet access at border posts, and resistance from interests that benefit from the old system’s inefficiencies.
But for now, many traders, transporters, and small businesses in Kenya — especially those operating across borders — see the new E-Customs app as a long-awaited breath of relief.
If it delivers, it could mark a turning point in East African trade: from slow, costly bureaucracy to swift, digital commerce.
More news: 30 Plus Free Scholarships For Kenyans To Study In UK Universities