Southern Africa Cross Border Traders Association (SACBTA) was set to amplify the voices of small-scale traders in the SADC region. It was registered in 2010 under the patents and company registration (PACRA). Informal Cross Border Trade (ICBT) is an economic activity that engages a high percentage of women in the region. Women in the SADC, COMESA and EAC regions have been at the forefront of cross-border trade both as a source of income and employment yet their experiences have not been adequately documented to advocate for improved trade conditions. The lack of income generation and employment opportunities in the formal sector is a key factor for engaging in informal cross-border trade. SACBTA with the financial support of Southern Africa Trust (SAT) and UN Women implemented a project to empower women informal cross border traders in the SADC region. This initiative falls under the broader Gender and Trade initiative of SACBTA that seeks to identify how the provisions in Simplified Trade regime, customs union and common market protocols can be exploited in order to increase women’s trade volumes, reduce transaction costs and eliminate the non-tariff barriers which remain obstacles to women informal cross border traders. In order to contribute to regional and national policies on domestic and foreign trade, SACBTA have so far conducted three regional forums on women cross border trade in the SADC region. Some of the outcomes of the forums is the enhanced engagement with government by the traders and the associations representing the cross border traders. In 2014 SACBTA participated in the formulation of the World Bank cross border charter, which came as one of the recommendations in the Diagnostics Trade Integrated Survey (DTIS) under the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry (MCTI). SACBTA is currently advocating for the implementation of the STR in the SADC region as only Zambia, Malawi and the EAC except Tanzania is being implemented. SACBTA works mainly in nine SADC countries: Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, with the inclusion of Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland. SACBTA has an average membership of 8,100 members in nine countries and an average of 700 members per country. SACBTA is currently undertaking a project to develop an online reporting system through the project AfricanTraders.org. The AfricanTraders.org interactive project seeks to address stigmatization by empowering the traders through constructing a trader-owned, coordinated platform for information sharing and abuse reporting. It seeks to address the lack of relevant institutional structures by collecting data that can be used for advocacy for accountability on both national and international levels. In addition, it seeks to address the lack of information by being a one-stop information hub on the rules, rights, and responsibilities that surround cross border trade at each border post in Southern Africa. The national and international organizations that represent cross border traders are agents of change that work on behalf of their members to improve democratization and respect for freedoms of opinion. As more than 70% of cross border traders are women, the project specifically targets the improvement for women to exercise the right to freedom of expression, be active participants in democratization processes and exercise influence in public decision-making. SACBTA has also participated in the World Bank cross border charter activities in Zambia spearheaded by the World Bank in Zambia. Civil society working together with traders associations organized the popularisation workshop of the charter where stakeholders provided the implementation strategies of the charter.