The East African Community (EAC) has moved a step closer to establishing a Single Digital Market after validating a harmonised framework for cross-border data transfers.
The framework, endorsed during a regional workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, is expected to guide the adoption of common regional rules for transferring personal and commercial data across Partner States while balancing the free flow of information with privacy and data protection requirements.
The EAC says the framework will ease cross-border data flows, reduce compliance costs for businesses and accelerate the region’s digital integration agenda.
Currently, businesses operating across the bloc face varying data protection laws and compliance requirements, making it more expensive and complex to offer services such as mobile money, e-commerce, cloud computing, digital banking, telemedicine and online education.
According to EAC Deputy Secretary General for Customs, Trade and Monetary Affairs, Annette Ssemuwemba, fragmented data governance has become a non-tariff barrier to regional integration.
She noted that cross-border data flows are now as critical as the movement of goods and services, with mobile money, customs systems, digital public services, health platforms and virtual learning all relying on the secure exchange of data between countries.
“Cross-border data flows are no longer a technical or niche regulatory concern. They are central infrastructure for regional trade, financial services, digital public services and health systems across the East African Community,” Ssemuwemba said.
The EAC expects the framework to strengthen cooperation among national data protection regulators, provide greater regulatory certainty, lower compliance costs and attract more investment into the region’s digital economy.
The measures are also expected to benefit micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which often bear higher costs when complying with different regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions.
The initiative is part of the Eastern Africa Regional Digital Integration Project (EARDIP), a World Bank-supported programme under which the EAC is developing common digital policies alongside regional initiatives on digital identity, cybersecurity, cross-border payment systems and telecommunications infrastructure.
The validated framework will now be refined before being submitted through the EAC’s policy-making processes for consideration and adoption by Partner States.
