A new initiative launched by the World Bank and the governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda aims to address the daily hazards faced by small scale traders and at the same time boost a vital part of the region’s growing economy. Implemented in cooperation with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa or COMESA, the Great Lakes Trade Facilitation Project aims to clear logistical and administrative logjams at busy border crossings, reduce corruption and the harassment of traders—particularly women—boost local and regional economies, and alleviate poverty.