Key stakeholders from the East African Community (EAC) have today agreed on a roadmap for the registration and classification of ICT professionals in the region, during a validation exercise organised by the EAC Secretariat in Nairobi, Kenya.
The potential for services to drive competitiveness in the EAC is hampered by a range of factors including the unfinished liberalisation agenda, lack of awareness of opportunities in the region and restrictive domestic laws. For the ICT sector, it is essential to ensure that regulation enables rather than inhibits innovation and that mobility of ICT professionals unfolds through transparent and predictable processes.
The two-day technical forum considered the classification and registration of ICT related professions in EAC Partner States on the basis of analysis of the existing frameworks, institutional arrangements and challenges faced by ICT professionals in cross-border mobility. In addition, the forum reviewed international good practices to support the interoperability of ICT professional standards while fostering innovation and competitiveness.
The event supported by DIGEAT project and LIFTED, — a project co-financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union (EU), and implemented by GIZ brought together representatives across the eight Partner States from the Ministries responsible for ICT, EAC Affairs, Trade, ICT regulators, academia, ICT professionals and development partners.
Representing the EAC secretariat, Ms. Annette Kenganzi, Senior Exports Promotion Officer, observed that the initiative to classify ICT-related professionals is an effort to operationalize article 11 of the Common Market Protocol on harmonization and mutual recognition of academic and professional qualifications, to facilitate mobility of learners and service providers across the region.
“The objective of this workshop is to validate the findings generated from the national consultations on the status of ICT professional classification in each Partner State and develop a roadmap for harmonising classification of ICT professionals to facilitate cross border mobility. I therefore call upon delegates to confirm their country specific findings and generate consensus on the report to progress the process of harmonization of ICT professional standards.” She emphasised.
On his part, Mr. Sagoh Djete, Programme Manager for Regional Cooperation, EU Delegation to Tanzania and the EAC reflected on the cooperation between the EU, EAC Secretariat and the Partner States in implementing mutually agreed priorities to advance regional integration, trade and digital transformation.
“Today, ICT is no longer a supporting sector but rather a foundational enabler of trade, innovation, public service delivery, and competitiveness. For this reason, the EU has established a wide range of initiatives focused on supporting the movement of professionals, e-payment and e-commerce among others, to boost digital transformation and encourage innovation while ensuring that technology works for people, the economy and society at large.” He added.
In her remarks, Ms. Estella Aryada, Component Lead -Trade In Services, GIZ, underscored the importance of digitalization as a common theme in GIZ support to the EAC. She highlighted some of the  initiatives, including support to the development of the digital transformation strategy, documenting of use cases for cross border ecommerce and the development of a digital platform for engineers, that will automate the processes of application, verification and issuing of certificates to permit engineers from one Partner State to have their qualifications accepted by another Partner State.
“All these initiatives rely on a strong foundation of ICT skills, and bring to light the interconnection between trade, infrastructure, cyber security, e-government, among others. A business-friendly legal, regulatory and institutional environment is essential to unlock the potential of ICT to contribute to a private sector driven and people centred EAC.” She added.
The role of the services sector in accelerating competitiveness, innovation, diversification and inclusive development has long been acknowledged, and the last few decades have seen how ICT can have a transformative and disruptive effect on value chains, business models and sustainable economic growth.
To advance this agenda, the EAC Strategy for Trade in Services (2023-2033) identified priority sectors such as Engineering and Telecommunications including ICT, as a critical spearhead for service sector integration. The Strategy emphasises that ICT services are vital for business survival, regional connectivity, and the integration of the EAC into the continental and global economy.