Find out what the market requires before you ship

Most exporters discover a requirement at the port, not at the planning stage — a trademark that had to be recorded, a stamp that had to be applied at origin, a registration that takes months. Here is what the main markets ask for, and how we help you sequence it.

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What the main markets require

A starting point, not legal advice — rules change, and your product category decides which of these apply.

🇰🇪Kenya

  • Record your trademark with the Anti-Counterfeit Authority before importing. Under section 34B of the Anti-Counterfeit Act this applies to goods imported into Kenya regardless of where the mark is registered, and has applied to import declarations since 1 January 2023.
  • Excise stamps under KRA's Excisable Goods Management System for excisable goods, including imports.
  • Standards conformity through KEBS for regulated products.

🇳🇬Nigeria

  • NAFDAC registration for food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices and chemicals. A foreign manufacturer must work through a registered Nigerian representative.
  • For high-risk medicines such as antimalarials and antibiotics, NAFDAC's Mobile Authentication Service scheme applies, operated through NAFDAC-approved providers.
  • SONCAP conformity assessment for regulated non-food goods, carried out in the exporting country before shipment, alongside Form M and a Pre-Arrival Assessment Report.

🌍East Africa & Ghana

  • Excise stamps on excisable goods: Uganda's Digital Tax Stamps, Tanzania's Electronic Tax Stamps and Ghana's Excise Tax Stamp all cover imports as well as local manufacture.
  • Uganda allows importers to apply digital stamps in the country of origin, which is worth planning for before production rather than after arrival.

🔜Coming in 2027

  • GS1 Sunrise 2027: retail point-of-sale systems worldwide are committing to read 2D barcodes carrying GS1 data alongside traditional linear barcodes. If your artwork is being revised anyway, this is the moment to plan a single QR that serves checkout, product information and authentication.

Last reviewed . Confirm current requirements with the relevant authority or your counsel before you ship.

What the Market Entry engagement covers

A fixed-scope piece of work, quoted per market, that ends with you knowing exactly what has to happen and in what order — and with your first protected batch ready to ship.

  • A requirement map for your product and each target country — what must be registered, recorded, stamped or certified, and in what order.
  • A recordation and registration checklist, with the documents each authority expects and who has to sign them.
  • Artwork and labelling review, including where a verification code should sit so it survives the pack and actually protects the unit.
  • Introductions to the specialists a filing needs: local IP counsel, a licensed clearing agent, your packaging supplier.
  • Your first production batch set up on the platform, with the destination market attached.
  • A baseline market check in the destination country, so you know what is already on the shelf under your name.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Market entry questions

What exporters ask before committing stock to a new African market.

Are you a law firm or a customs agent?

No, and this matters. We are not lawyers, trademark agents or licensed clearing agents, and where a filing must be made by a licensed professional we will introduce you to one rather than pretend we can do it. What we provide is the map, the checklist, the sequencing and the coordination — which is what most exporters are actually missing.

We already sell into Kenya. Do we still need to record our trademark?

Almost certainly yes. The recordation requirement applies to goods being imported into Kenya irrespective of where the intellectual property right is registered, and importing goods that have not been recorded is an offence. Exporters are frequently surprised by this because it is an import-declaration requirement rather than a trademark-office one. Confirm your position with Kenyan counsel — this page is a starting point, not legal advice.

Does a verification code satisfy any of these requirements?

No. Excise stamps are tax instruments, product registration is a regulatory approval, and schemes like NAFDAC's Mobile Authentication Service run through approved providers that we are not one of. A brand-owned code sits alongside all of them and answers a different question: is this specific unit one you made, and where has it been scanned?

How long does entering a new market take?

It varies enormously by product and country — a regulated medicine is a different exercise from a packaged food or a spare part, and registration timelines are set by the authority, not by us. What we can compress is the part that usually wastes months: discovering a requirement after the goods have shipped.

Can we buy this without the platform?

Yes. Market entry support is scoped as its own engagement. Most brands do end up putting codes on the goods they are about to ship, but that is a decision you can make after the requirement map, not before.

Still have a question? Talk to our team — we usually reply within one business day.

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