African Organisation for Standardisation – ARSO

ARSO was formed in 1977 with the principal mandate to harmonise African Standards, Conformity Assessment & Procedures in order to reduce Technical Barriers to Trade and therefore promote Intra African and International Trade as well as enhance the industrialization of Africa.

Our Programmes

There are several programmes run by the ARSO Central Secretariat…

ARSO Conformity Assessment Committee (ARSO CACO) , ARSO Consumer Committee (ARSO COCO) , ARSO Documentation Information System Network (ARSO DISNET), ECO Mark Africa (EMA)

Statistics, Services & Progress

Here are the statistics at a glance

Our Members

ARSO is a Member Intergovernmental Organisation with 43 Members in Africa

as of Dec 2022…

Subscription Rate of Member Countries in Africa 77.78%

African Standards

Harmonised African Standards

as of Feb 2023…

1651 ARS Standards

Technical Committees & Select Committees

Number of Technical Committees in Existence
87 TCs

Number of THC Meetings held...

Since July 2012 ARSO has convened 100 + Technical Committees & Working Group Meetings
Success 187Units

African Standards Development Process

Based on the African Standards Harmonisation Model (ASHAM), ARSO harmonises the standards into African Standards. The Harmonisation process is coordinated by the ARSO Technical Management Committee Chaired by the ARSO President. There are currently 87 Technical Committees.

Join Our Team of African Experts

Register of African Experts in Standardization

ARSO encourages all Standardization Experts in Standards Development, Metrology, Quality Assurance, Testing, Certification, Inspection, Sanitary, Phyto-Sanitary, Health, etc to register using the following link below