By THE AFRICA BAZAAR Staff Writer
2014

Intertek , a government and trade services provider, and Tradegood are launching a web-portal service next month for East African-based importers and buyers.

The companies have been assisting the governments of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in designing buyer and supplier qualification and verification programs that can be used for customs clearance in their respective countries, to improve quality and safety.

The Pre Export Verification of Conformity to standards program, as it is called, will allow for certification of products imported into the countries and ensure that goods imported comply with safety, quality and other standards, thus both preventing the dumping of unsafe goods and improving quality.

Finance ministries use Intertek’s services to increase import duty collection and efficiency.

Intertek said it has been approved as the inspection body, which enables it to issue the mandatory Certificates of Conformity required for customs clearance in these countries.

The launch events will be held on Monday 18th November in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Tuesday 19th November in Nairobi, Kenya and Wednesday 20th November in Kampala, Uganda.

Tradegood, a business to business sourcing community enabled by Intertek, connects buyers and importers with trusted and reliable suppliers from more than 100 countries, including the American Apparel & Footwear Association, Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production, German Fashion Association of Germany, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, and the India Engineering Export Promotion Council .