The expansion of the East African Community (EAC) has brought together countries with very different geographical and economic circumstances.
Rwanda joined the Community in 2007, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) became a member in 2022 and Somalia became a full member in 2024.
For all three countries, membership provides opportunities to expand trade and investment and participate more closely in the economies of neighbouring states.
However, the particular benefits differ considerably because Rwanda is a small landlocked country, the DRC is a large resource-rich country with a substantial population and Somalia occupies a strategically important position on the Indian Ocean.
For Rwanda, one of the most important benefits of EAC membership is access to a much larger regional market. With a population of only around 14 million, Rwanda’s domestic market is relatively small. Integration with neighbouring countries gives Rwandan businesses access to millions of additional consumers.
Regional integration is particularly valuable to Rwanda because it is landlocked. Imports and exports must cross neighbouring countries before reaching an ocean port. Better integration with Kenya and Tanzania therefore has the potential to reduce the cost and time involved in moving goods to and from the Indian Ocean.
Improved road and border infrastructure can be especially important for a country whose businesses face higher transport costs than companies located directly on the coast.
Membership has also provided opportunities for investment and services. Rwanda has actively promoted itself as a regional business and investment centre.
The EAC Common Market provides for greater movement of goods, services, capital and labour, potentially allowing Rwandan businesses to operate more easily throughout the region.
Rwanda has also developed investment incentives aimed at attracting international and regional companies, including incentives for headquarters and information technology.
There is also a significant geographical benefit from Rwanda’s position between the larger economies of East and Central Africa.
Rwanda can act as a commercial link between Uganda and Tanzania on one side and the eastern DRC on the other. Rwanda is the leading destination for DRC exports to EAC members and the largest source of DRC imports from the Community.
The DRC’s principal potential benefit is its ability to combine its large population and enormous natural-resource base with the wider EAC market.
The DRC is particularly important because of its minerals, including copper, cobalt and gold.
The DRC also stands to benefit from alternative transport routes. Much of eastern DRC is closer to the East African transport network than to the country’s Atlantic coast. Connections through Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania can therefore provide access to ports such as Mombasa and Dar es Salaam. This could reduce the geographical isolation of eastern Congo and facilitate both imports and exports.
The DRC also represents a major new market for EAC businesses. Its population makes it one of the largest potential consumer markets in the Community. Goods from EAC partner states include food products, vehicles, cement, pharmaceuticals and manufactured goods.
Somalia offers a very different set of opportunities because it possesses a long Indian Ocean coastline. Somalia extends the Community’s maritime frontier to the Gulf of Aden. Its location provides connections towards the Middle East.
Somalia’s economy has historically been affected by inadequate infrastructure and insecurity, limiting its ability to exploit its geographical position.
Greater integration with the EAC could provide access to regional investment and expertise.
Somalia can also gain from access to the EAC’s large consumer market.
Somalia’s location means that piracy, terrorism, organised crime and instability can have consequences for neighbouring countries and international shipping. Participation in a regional organisation gives Somalia additional mechanisms for cooperation with other governments.
The three countries therefore have rather different reasons to benefit from EAC membership. Rwanda’s principal advantages are access to markets, improved connections for a landlocked economy and opportunities to attract investment. The DRC offers a huge consumer market and mineral-resource base while gaining access to East African transport corridors and ports. Somalia is strategically located and Middle-East facing.
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