Cross-border trade was identified by the World Bank in 2011 as important for economic growth in fragile and in-conflict countries. Small-scale traders across the DRC-Rwanda border, 90% of which were women, had a poor access to information on tariffs and legal procedures, were forced to pay bribes in cash or in-kind, and were subjected to sexual gender-based violence incidents. Among the recommendations made by the World Bank, there was the need for training of border officials and traders, institutional reforms, and a strengthened voice for traders. In this regard, the World Bank funded a multi-component project "Improving the conditions of cross-border traders in the Great Lakes region of Africa," which was implemented by the NGO International Alert from March 2012 to July 2013.
The DRC-Rwanda Cross-Border Trade Impact Evaluation focused on the effects of the training, under Component 2 "Empowerment of small-scale traders (via increased knowledge and understanding of regulations and rights and establishment and strengthening of associations/cooperatives)," of the larger project. It was a randomized individual trader-level assignment of 628 traders to treatment (training) and control. There were two rounds of survey data collection conducted by The Catholic University of Bukavu and IPSOS in 2011 and 2013. From the (unpublished) results, there was a potential reduction in sexual and gender-based violence (fewer traders insulted or spit upon), with no increase in "unofficial" fees to border officials. There also was a possible drop in corruption (fee-asking by border officials) emerging from the participation of border officials in the trader's training. Savings from trading activity also seemed to increase for small-scale cross-border traders.