Afreximbank is putting $29 million behind a digital customs system designed to remove one of the biggest frictions facing companies moving goods across East Africa: having to navigate separate guarantee requirements as cargo crosses national borders.

The bank’s guarantee for BSMART Technology Ltd. comes as trade across the East African Community accelerates, with total regional trade reaching $52.3 billion in the second quarter of 2026, up 37% from a year earlier.

For transporters and traders, the push could make the movement of cargo across multiple EAC markets less dependent on paperwork and separate national processes.

One guarantee, multiple borders

BSMART’s EACBond platform is built around a relatively simple proposition: allow a single customs guarantee to follow a shipment across participating countries instead of requiring separate arrangements along the route.

The digital platform brings customs authorities, customs agents and guarantors into one system, allowing guarantees to be processed electronically.

That means transport operators moving through several EAC countries can avoid repeatedly submitting physical documents at each border.

Afreximbank announced the $29 million guarantee Sept. 23 as part of the African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme, or AACTGS, which is intended to develop guarantee mechanisms that support trade across African markets.

EACBond has already moved beyond the concept stage. Its pilot began in Uganda in August 2025, while Rwanda and Burundi joined the system in January 2026. The platform was subsequently presented at the EAC Heads of State Summit in March.

Trade volumes put borders under pressure

The timing reflects a broader shift in the region’s trade flows. Intra-EAC exports increased 33.2% year over year to $3.2 billion in the second quarter, contributing to the wider $52.3 billion trade figure.

That growth puts greater pressure on the infrastructure surrounding regional commerce. Border delays, repeated documentation and fragmented guarantee requirements can add administrative costs to shipments moving through several countries.

The EAC called for further border reforms in July 2026, including wider use of digital technology to improve cross-border operations.

For Afreximbank, the EACBond guarantee therefore sits within a wider effort to make African trade infrastructure work across national boundaries rather than country by country.

As regional commerce expands, digital customs and transit systems are becoming an increasingly important part of moving goods through the continent’s trading corridors.