This is what a trader importing rice from Dakar to Bamako has to fill out or provide. 94 forms, customs declarations, bills, IDs. All required by the Malian and Senegalese authorities to clear the goods and to ensure they enter the country legally.

94 documents: the tip of the iceberg! They correspond to 90 different steps — each a compulsory administrative interactive between the country (Mali or Senegal) and the trader or his representative (agent, driver, etc..).

Each step is now described in detail online in a website dedicated to trade facilitation along the Dakar-Bamako Corridor. For the first time the site lists the procedures required by both countries.

The site details the different steps, their cost, the length of time foreseen for each, and the legal documents and institutions involved. It also identifies the recourse mechanisms available in case of problems with the different administrations.

The information has also been used by the Mali-Senegal Committee that proposes measures to simplify and facilitate trade within the framework of the GIZ Project “Improving competitiveness along the Dakar-Bamako Corridor”.