The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has issued a US$29 million (R470 million) guarantee to BSMART Technology to support the expansion of the East African Community (EAC) Customs Bond platform.
The guarantee will increase the financial capacity behind the bond and support its wider use by clearing and forwarding agents, guarantors and customs authorities, the bank said.
The platform is designed to let eligible users obtain and process customs bonds digitally, reducing the need to submit physical bond documents as goods move across borders. Customs bonds give authorities financial security for duties and taxes that may become payable while goods are in transit.
Afreximbank said the EAC Secretariat began piloting the digital bond in Uganda in August 2025. Rwanda and Burundi joined in January 2026 before its official launch at the EAC Heads of State Summit in March.
“With the EAC customs bond, we are supporting the digitisation and simplification of access to customs guarantees for businesses moving goods across the region – cutting costs and improving the efficiency of customs procedures,” said Afreximbank Executive Vice-President for Intra-African Trade and Export Development Kanayo Awani.
The bond is part of the bank’s African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme, which intends to reduce the need for separate customs guarantees along regional transit routes. Afreximbank said the new guarantee is expected to increase uptake of the EAC bond and reduce documentation requirements at borders.
BSMART Technology Managing Director Stephen Teang said the guarantee will support the company’s expansion of the platform.
