Africa’s vision of a seamless, self-reliant trading bloc is no longer an abstract aspiration—it is gradually becoming a structured agenda. But as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) move to deepen collaboration, the question remains: can Africa trade with itself faster than it negotiates with the world?
That question loomed large in Accra on Thursday, where AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene and Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Okey Oramah shared a stage to mark a transition in leadership—and in Africa’s economic ambition.
A Partnership at the Core of Africa’s Integration
Over the past five years, AfCFTA and Afreximbank have quietly built the scaffolding for continental trade. Afreximbank’s Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), the Adjustment Fund, and the MANSA due diligence platform have emerged as practical instruments to tackle Africa’s most persistent trade challenge: friction.
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“These are more than programmes,” said Mene. “They express a single vision: a self-reliant Africa that trades with itself, invests in its own potential, and shapes its future with purpose.”
Yet Mene was careful to add a cautionary note. “We must keep borders efficient, reduce non-tariff barriers, and make rules of origin work at the factory and the border,” he warned. “And we must ensure women, youth, and small businesses are not left out of the AfCFTA market.”
That emphasis on inclusion is both moral and economic. Micro, small, and medium enterprises make up over 80% of Africa’s employment base, and their ability to participate meaningfully in cross-border trade will determine whether AfCFTA becomes an elite framework or a mass-mobility revolution.
Afreximbank’s Strategic Muscle
For Prof. Oramah, Afreximbank’s outgoing president, the progress so far is no accident. Speaking at his farewell lecture, he traced the Bank’s vision for intra-African trade back to 2016, when it launched the Intra-African Trade Strategy—then seen as ambitious, even idealistic.
The Bank committed $20 billion by 2022 to finance African trade—and exceeded it. Since then, Afreximbank has committed billions more, directly supporting the AfCFTA Secretariat’s operations, protocols, and negotiations.
Through its African Trade Facilitation Programme (AFTRAF), the Bank has integrated over 500 of Africa’s 600 commercial banks, offering them trade credit limits and letters of credit confirmation lines worth $8 billion—of which $5 billion has already been deployed.
It’s a financial architecture that gives substance to AfCFTA’s ambitions. While the Secretariat sets the rules, Afreximbank ensures liquidity. Together, they have begun to weave the financial web that connects African exporters in Lagos, manufacturers in Nairobi, and distributors in Accra to a continental market once divided by tariffs, logistics, and mistrust.
The Next Frontier: Implementation
The true test of Africa’s economic integration, however, lies in execution. Trade tools alone will not deliver a unified market if borders remain bureaucratic bottlenecks, customs systems stay fragmented, and national interests trump continental priorities.
Wamkele Mene’s call for “accelerated implementation” reflects a growing impatience with rhetoric. Analysts argue that without coordinated digital trade frameworks and harmonized logistics corridors, Africa risks a dual economy—one of globalized trade agreements and domestic inefficiency.
Moreover, geopolitical uncertainty—from currency volatility to regional conflicts—continues to cast a shadow over long-term confidence. To compete globally, Africa’s market must first work seamlessly internally.
Why It Matters
AfCFTA represents a $3.4 trillion opportunity—the world’s largest free trade zone by membership. But to unlock its potential, trust and efficiency must replace protectionism and fragmentation.
As Mene emphasized, “This is not about trade for its own sake. It’s about transforming how we produce, connect, and prosper together.”
For Ghana, hosting both the AfCFTA Secretariat and this milestone event signals Accra’s emerging role as a diplomatic and financial hub for African integration—an advantage that local industries, logistics firms, and SMEs can leverage if they look beyond national borders.
Conclusion From Accra Street Journal
Africa is closer than ever to realizing its long-held dream of economic unity. Yet, as with all revolutions, the danger lies not in failure but in fatigue.
The groundwork has been laid—digitally, financially, and institutionally. What comes next is political will, private-sector confidence, and the courage to trade with ourselves as we do with the world.
Source: Accra Street Journal
Last Updated on March 9, 2026 by Samuel Kwame Boadu
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Samuel Kwame Boadu is a Ghanaian media entrepreneur and storyteller with a passion for amplifying urban voices and uncovering everyday truths. He is the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Accra Street Journal, a dynamic digital platform dedicated to capturing the pulse of Ghana’s capital—its people, culture, challenges, business, sports and innovations.
