Five African countries are stepping up their use of the WTO’s ePing platform, which provides information on regulations and standards for products circulating worldwide. For the past ten years, the WTO (World Trade Organisation) has been developing the ePing platform. The aim of this tool is to inform international trade stakeholders and the general public about the requirements relating to products circulating worldwide. The organisation, led by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has just decided to step up the use of this tool on the continent “ to improve transparency and market access in Africa ”.
This initiative helps governments, exporters and other stakeholders to better monitor and adapt to changing product requirements affecting international trade. Funded by the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF), this three-year project focuses on five African countries and aims to improve transparency, predictability and market access.
The project is being implemented by the WTO in Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. It brings together governments, the private sector and international partners to improve the way regulatory information is shared, accessed and used in sectors affected by sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and technical barriers to trade (TBT).
Fundamentally, this initiative aims to improve the use of the ePing SPS & TBT platform to enhance transparency regarding market access, with a strong focus on raising awareness of the platform, particularly in the five African countries where national workshops will be organised. These national workshops are designed to boost the practical use of ePing among regulators, enquiry points, exporters, trade associations and other stakeholders who rely on up-to-date regulatory information to access markets. Mitigating risks “ Rapid access to regulatory information is essential for trade ,” explains Deputy Director-General Jean-Marie Paugam. “ As the project’s implementation progresses, improving the use of ePing on the ground and upgrading the platform based on user feedback will help trade operators – particularly small and medium-sized enterprises – avoid costly surprises at the border and better capitalise on market access opportunities . ”
Indeed, according to the WTO, governments around the world continue to introduce and revise regulations relating to food safety, animal and plant health, product quality and technical standards. It can be difficult to keep track of these changes, particularly for exporters operating in multiple markets.
In this context, the free global platform enables users to track notified draft measures in real time, receive personalised email alerts and engage with regulatory authorities before new requirements come into force.
The organisation notes the growing volume of regulatory activity. In 2025, more than 7,000 SPS and TBT notifications were issued globally, the highest number ever recorded, with African members accounting for a growing share. As notifications continue to rise, missing or late information can lead to rejected exports, compliance costs and lost trade opportunities. “ Effective use of ePing can help mitigate these risks by improving transparency and facilitating early dialogue at the national level and with trading partners ,” explains the WTO.
Finally, national and regional workshops, which the organisation considers to be “ a central pillar of the project’s implementation ”, will combine practical training, peer-to-peer exchanges and needs assessment sessions to better understand how different users interact with the platform.
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