- The implementation of TLIP by the IOTA Foundation in Kenya is reported to have drastically upgraded supply chain management by connecting systems across borders.
- Despite its potential and efficiency, about 90% of all international trades are said to rely on paper-based documents, which end up slowing down the process of facilitation.
The joint creation of the Trade Logistics Information Pipeline (TLIP) by IOTA and world entities, including “The World Economic Forum, TradeMark Africa, and the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change,” is reported to have subjected International trade to a significant transformation. Fascinatingly, this has been the case in many countries since announcing its participation in the Responsible Supply Chains and Logistics Due Diligence (RESULD), as we previously highlighted.
International trade was earlier plagued by physical documents marked by fraud and errors, leading to a lack of transparency and efficiency. However, this narrative has changed, especially for Kenya, since its implementation last year, as mentioned in a CNF report. Even with TLIP’s introduction, over 90% of international trade is reported to still depend on paper-based documents.
IOTA in the real world 👇
Really proud of what we have built with TLIP in Kenya. It is a project with real impact on people and the economy. This year we will work on scaling it to other countries.https://t.co/R4MkGvvatz— Dominik Schiener (@DomSchiener) January 8, 2025
IOTA’s TLIP and Supply Chain in Kenya
Commenting on the issues confronting international trade and the current change observed with the introduction of TLIP, the General Manager of the leading producer of high-quality roses, Sian Flowers, Elizabeth Kimani, has highlighted that the strategic Alliance led by the IOTA foundation has enabled easier verification of documents along the supply chain.
Processing documents for a shipment was such a hectic idea, moving from one office to the other with a heap of documents, with the risk of even losing the documents. However, the TLIP now ensures that every document is in the right place, verified, and secure. It also ensures that documents are readily available to whoever requires them along the supply chain.
Adding to this, Kimani disclosed that her company used to face challenges including oversights, leading to missing business opportunities. However, TLIP fixed this by ensuring that the arrival of the flowers in the marketplace coincides with the accurate positions of documents.
In another statement, the Commissioner of the Custom and Border Control Department at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Dr. Lilian Nyawanda also hinted that the TLIP has been onboarded by KRA to process exports and imports. Explaining the details, Nyawanda disclosed that the export information from the source country is on-boarded onto the platform, while it also receives information on the import side for processing.
Highlighting the benefits, the Commissioner stated that the TLIP enables the Department to do risk profiles in an advanced manner. Also, the platform provides full visibility of information or data coming from the source, enabling them to access information on the incoming goods before arrival.
Other Integrations
Apart from Sian Flowers and Kenya Revenue Authority, our research also shows that the Kenya Trade Network Agency has onboarded TLIP. According to the Manager of Trade Facilitation Billy Ngumi, this has been integrated with the Kenya Electronic Single Window to ensure easy electronic exchange of import and export documents with international markets. Per his observation, this has enabled faster clearance by reducing the cost.
It is important to note that the TLIP was built on the IOTA technology with jaw-dropping transparency, traceability, and immutability of data. According to the Head of Global Trade and Supply Chain at IOTA Foundation, Jens Munch Lund-Nielsen, there is a provision of a trusted environment for digital collaboration with the TLIP. Meanwhile, he clarified that the TLIP structure is not meant to replace organizations’ systems but to act as a digital bridge to connect systems across borders and sectors.
IOTA seeks to expand this cutting-edge system across Africa as it took the initial step to sponsor the African Custom and Trade Conference that took place in Nairobi, Kenya, in October 2024, as we featured in a news piece. According to another report, the discussion was bordered around enhancing trade across the “length and breadth of Africa.”
