Africa Trade Summit Sets Ambitious Targets to Boost Intra-Continental Commerce

At the recent Africa Trade Summit, leaders from across the continent came together to outline a bold agenda to enhance intra-African trade, strengthen regional value chains, and deepen economic integration. The summit underscored a shared vision of transforming Africa’s trade landscape through policy reform, infrastructure investment, and closer collaboration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

One of the core goals announced at the summit is to raise intra-African trade from its current level — estimated at around 14%–20% of total trade — to **50% by 2030**. This target reflects the urgency felt among African policymakers that the continent must reduce dependence on external markets and build stronger internal trading flows.

To reach this milestone, the summit laid out several strategic pillars:

• Full implementation of AfCFTA protocols: Member states reaffirmed commitment to removing both tariff and non-tariff barriers, harmonising rules of origin, and ensuring that preferential trade regimes under AfCFTA are accessible, especially to small and medium-sized enterprises.
• Strengthening trade facilitation and reducing border frictions: Efforts will intensify on digitising border procedures, streamlining customs operations, and adopting unified or mutually recognised regulatory and documentary standards.
• Financial infrastructure and local currency usage: A key proposal is expanding the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to enable transactions in local currencies, thereby reducing dependency on foreign currencies and lowering transaction costs.
• Infrastructure investment: The summit emphasised boosting transportation networks, energy systems, digital connectivity, ports, and logistics corridors, which are critical for efficient cross-border trade. Investments in clean/renewable energy were also flagged to ensure trade remains sustainable and reliable.
• Industrialisation and value addition: Rather than trading primarily raw commodities, the plan seeks to encourage value-added goods, regional manufacturing hubs (for example in agribusiness, automotive, textiles, and electronics), and stronger supply chains within Africa. This aims to capture more economic benefits domestically.
• Private sector engagement & support for SMEs: Recognising that small and medium enterprises are key drivers of inclusive trade, the summit called for more access to trade finance, improved export readiness, and capacity building for SMEs.

Summit delegates also acknowledged the challenges ahead. Among them are infrastructure gaps, inconsistent regulatory frameworks among countries, customs delays, and the costs associated with shifting to local currency trade. To address these, finance mechanisms such as the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund and public-private partnerships were proposed, along with international investment support.

In the words of one speaker, “a truly integrated Africa means that value is not just extracted but built and retained here — in our factories, in our markets, in our currencies.” If the summit’s agenda is carried through, Africa could unlock major new growth, employment, and resilience against global trade disruptions. But success will depend on consistent political commitment, funding, and coordination among all levels of government and across regions.