Kentrade has kicked off an upgrade of the Kenya TradeNet System to improve efficiency, lower costs and address the challenges the users of the six-year-old software have experienced as the agency expands its trade facilitation mandates.
The upgrade, which the agency says is long overdue, will address the challenges of delays in document processing, lack of a 2-factor user authentication mechanism and address the problem of the limited document security features.
Other challenges the system has experienced and which the upgraded system seeks to cure are limited visibility of information to users due to lack of dashboards and few standard reports and cumbersome user registration process delaying registration process.
The upgraded system will also focus on Master Data harmonization with Partner Government Agencies (PGAs) with increased ability to add more integration, make user administration easy and reduced the high total cost of ownership, KenTrade Chief Executive Officer Mr. Amos Wangora told a recent sensitization workshop.
Kenya TradeNet System has been operating since October 31, 2013 when it officially went live. It has registered over 12,500 system users and 35 PGA, with 5 of them completely integrated 8 more in progress
Kentrade has already signed an upgrading contract with Crimson Logic of Singapore to upgrade the TradeNet System, with over US$22.19 million collected through the system per year with majority of Government agencies recording double digit growth in revenue year in year on.
Crimson Logic developed the software and has been assisting in running it but according to Wangora, the process of enhancing local capacity is also ongoing to reduce overreliance on software developer.
“The new system will utilize current technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Block chain,” Wangora said.
The process to upgrade the system, dubbed Trade Facilitation Platform (TFP), started in December last year with gap analysis, according to Mr. Wangora.
It is an 18 months process with the upgrading expected to be completed in March next year and the system ready for users in July.
KenTrade has in the recent years embarked on a number of initiatives to facilitate trade, which is core part of its mandate.
Although the agency requires Sh 1 billion every year to run its operations, the Treasury, the mother ministry, allocates Sh 600 million. Since its inception, the agency has fully been financed by the Treasury.
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