13/08/2026
WCO ESA Region Equips Customs Officers with Research Skills for Efficient Trade Facilitation
The World Customs Organization East and Southern Africa Regional Office for Capacity Building (WCO ESA ROCB), in collaboration with the Regional Training Centre (RTC) Kenya, hosted a Research Methodology Webinar on 11th August 2026, bringing together 113 participants from 19 Member Administrations across the region. The webinar focused on strengthening the research capabilities of Customs officers and exploring how research, data and emerging technologies can contribute to efficient trade facilitation, operational effectiveness and evidence-based decision-making.
In her opening remarks, the ROCB Director, Josephine Manyasi ‘ndc’(K), emphasized the importance of building research capacity within Member Administrations and encouraged participants to view research as a practical tool for addressing Customs challenges. She underscored the need to move beyond research as an academic exercise and translate findings and evidence into meaningful and measurable improvements in Customs operations. She also called for greater regional collaboration through the sharing of research, methodologies, findings and good practices, noting that many Customs challenges are common across the ESA region. Such collaboration would enable Member Administrations to learn from one another, exchange knowledge and develop practical solutions to shared challenges.
Dr. Emma Omwenga, Deputy Commissioner, RTC Kenya echoed the importance of utilizing research and emerging areas of Customs to strengthen decision-making and predictive analysis. She emphasized the value of embracing innovative approaches that can support Customs administrations in responding effectively to emerging challenges while continuously improving their operations.
The webinar provided participants with insights into how research and emerging technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), can support modern Customs administration. Discussions explored their potential application in areas such as trade facilitation and operational efficiency, governance and transparency, decision-making, intelligent document processing and interpretation, risk management, pattern identification and compliance.
The facilitator, Dr. Benard Baimwera, encouraged participants to further explore the WCO Report on the Adoption of AI/ML in Customs (March 2025) as a useful resource for deepening their understanding of the application and potential of these technologies within Customs administrations.
A key message from the discussions was that research should be an everyday tool for Customs administrations, enabling officers to translate evidence and knowledge into practical solutions for operational challenges. Participants also shared experiences on the use of research within their administrations and explored twinning arrangements, through which Member Administrations with advanced expertise could support others in building research capacity and promoting regional knowledge exchange.
Participants also explored establishing a regional Customs research platform, including an ESA Regional Customs Research Conference, to share research and good practices, promote collaboration and leverage research, data and emerging technologies to inform Customs policies and strengthen trade facilitation and decision-making.
The webinar marked an important step towards building a stronger research culture in ESA Customs administrations, equipping officers to translate research and evidence into practical solutions that support efficient, responsive and evidence-driven Customs services.
Read more: https://www.wcoesarocb.org/wco-esa-region-equips-customs.../
Kenya School of Revenue Administration
