David Beer has been appointed the new Chief Executive Officer for TradeMark East Africa (TMEA), and will assume the position effective September 1, according to a statement issued by the organisation. Beer succeeds Frank Matsaert, TMEA’s founding CEO who has led the organisation for more than a decade and spearheaded its expansion beyond East Africa to now include the Horn, Southern and West Africa, as well as raising its funding from an initial $42 million to $1.2 billion by April 2022. He recently completed his tour as High Commissioner for the United Kingdom in Malawi and will now be based in Nairobi, Kenya, TMEA’s headquarters. Beer has over twenty years of senior international experience linked to aid for trade, governments and diplomacy, multilaterals, and development- an experience which, according to TMEA board, positions him to provide continuity of purpose. Erastus Mwencha, TMEA Board Chair, stated, “David’s extensive government and trade development skills should help TMEA strengthen its programming, develop strategic alliances, and roll out fit for purpose products that respond to market needs at macro and micro level so Africa can maximise its trade potential.” He previously represented the UK, advising respective UK Executive Directors to the Boards of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on areas such as institutional risk management, adaptive programming and disaster risk financing, alongside macro-economic management and development programming. TMEA is an aid-for-trade organisation that was established in 2010 with an aim of growing prosperity in East Africa through increased trade. Its work revolves around reducing trade barriers through improved transportation and logistics systems, digitisation of key trade processes, enhanced standards and SPS compliance and targeted interventions supporting women and youth in Small and Medium Enterprises in critical sectors. In 2018, Trade Mark committed to invest $53M in Rwanda over the course of five years to support development in trade. The amount was expected to be spent at the tune of about $10M every year. Beer joins TMEA at a time when the organisation is expanding to the rest of Africa and scaling up support for the implementation of Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
