tralac is a non-profit capacity-building organisation developing trade-related capacity in east and southern Africa in order to assist countries in the region to produce tradables competitively, to enhance their trade performance and to ensure that trade contributes to development within a rules-based system of international trade governance. tralac’s capacity building programme involves three main areas of work: 1) Applied trade law and policy research and analysis addressing the most pressing trade matters for countries in east and southern Africa, disseminated in the form of trade briefs, working papers and monographs; 2) Training, through tailored short courses covering a range of trade-related topics, trade policy and data analysis workshops (Geek Weeks), and e-learning courses (launching in March 2017); and 3) Policy dialogue through the tralac website and electronic newsletter, social media and events such as the tralac Annual Conference, which has become an important forum for discussing the region’s trade agenda.