EAC Regional Quality Award 2025 edition launched in Arusha, Tanzania
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 15th April, 2025: The East African Community (EAC) Regional Quality Awards 2025 edition, an ambitious initiative designed to promote and celebrate a culture of quality across the Partner States, was launched on Monday evening at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania
This year's awards build upon the success of the inaugural 2024 edition, which took place in Uganda and drew widespread participation and enthusiasm from across the EAC Partner States.
The primary objective of the EAC Regional Quality Awards is to foster a culture of quality within the Community by encouraging the adoption of standards and quality management practices by EAC enterprises.
The awards seek to stimulate interest in quality management practices and excellence among EAC enterprises, encourage sustainable competitiveness by recognising organisations that excel in adopting international standards, inspire Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), and large enterprises to pursue continuous improvement and innovation and raise public awareness of the benefits of participation in quality-related activities among others
Winners of 2025 EAC Regional Quality Awards will be honoured at a formal ceremony to be held in December 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya.The ceremony will take place on the sidelines of the annual EAC Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Trade Fair, providing a platform to celebrate quality excellence and inspire more SMEs to embrace quality management best practices that enhance competitiveness and drive sustainable growth.
Speaking during the launch of the EAC Regional Quality Awards, the EAC Secretary General, Hon. Veronica Nduva, said that the EAC Quality Awards have grown into one of the most consistent and impactful regional initiatives.
“I am pleased to note that over 40 enterprises small, medium, and large – from across diverse sectors including services, have benefited from this competition,” said Hon. Nduva
The Secretary General informed the participants that the awards go beyond recognition, adding that they offer a launchpad to the continental and global markets, inspiring enterprises to align with international best practices and benchmark their performance on the world stage.
She commended the Republic of Uganda and particularly the Uganda National Bureau of Standards, for the successful coordination of the 2024 edition, which culminated in a highly impactful regional ceremony in Kampala.
The SG underscored the importance of building a quality culture in the region, saying that this would play an important role in adopting standards and best practices, eliminating non-tariff barriers, supporting value addition and driving industrialisation.
“I am happy to note the introduction of a new award category in agro-processing. Given that a large portion of our region’s GDP depends on agriculture, this is a timely step in promoting value chains, boosting agro-based exports, and supporting our vision for structural transformation” said Hon. Nduva.
On her part, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Customs, Trade and Monetary Affairs, Ms. Annette Ssemuwemba, said that the launch of the regional quality awards reflects the EAC's commitment to bolstering economic integration and improving the region’s infrastructure by prioritising quality as an essential component of sustainable development.
“By recognizing the best practices, this initiative will not only enhance consumer confidence but also motivate businesses to strive for excellence,” said Ms. Ssemuwemba.
She reiterated that the goal of the quality awards is to celebrate those who are leading the way in quality management by highlighting their excellence, and inspire other organisations to follow suit, ultimately creating a culture of quality that benefits all East Africans.
Categories of the 2025 EAC Regional Quality Awards
In 2025, participants will be recognised in five (5) categories of Regional Quality Awards, namely:
- EAC Product of the Year: for both Large Enterprises and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs);
- EAC Company of the Year: for both Large Enterprises and SMEs;
- EAC Service Awards: Divided into (a) Public and (b) Private sectors (applicable to both Large Enterprises and SMEs);
- EAC Exporter Awards: focused on enterprises in the agro-processing sector; and
- EAC Standardization Excellence Awards: Recognizing outstanding contributions to the adoption and promotion of standards
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Awards, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Be a legally registered enterprise operating in any of the EAC Partner States;
- Implementing a management system or has valid product certification mark;
- Comply with all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements;
- If applying as a subsidiary or business unit of a larger entity, the unit must operate as a clearly defined, stand-alone business with financial autonomy and independently managed accounts
Interested companies, organizations or individuals can obtain the Application Guidelines for the 2025 EAC Regional Quality Awards from the websites of their respective National Standards Bodies (NSBs).
For more information, please contact:
Simon Peter Owaka
Senior Public Relations Officer
Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 768 552087
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of eight (8) Partner States, comprising the Republic of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Rwanda, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republic of South Sudan, the Republic of Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. The Federal Republic of Somalia was admitted into the EAC bloc by the Summit of EAC Heads of State on 24th November, 2023 and became a full member on 4th March, 2024