Africa must close persistent gaps in market intelligence, trade finance and regulatory information to accelerate intra-African trade and unlock the continent’s industrial potential, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has said.

Executive Vice-President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development at Afreximbank, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, made the call in a commentary released on Thursday, stressing that stronger trade flows among African countries would help catalyse investment, industrialisation and value addition to the continent’s natural resources.

According to Awani, intra-African trade grew by 5.4 per cent in 2024 to $206.6 billion, citing Afreximbank’s Africa in Figures 2025 report.
She said continued implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could further increase the volume of trade among African countries, but warned that businesses continue to face barriers that limit their ability to expand across borders.

“Across the continent, enterprises are held back by limited knowledge of market opportunities, as well as unclear regulatory information and restricted access to trade finance,” she said.
Awani identified the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) as a major platform for addressing some of these challenges by connecting businesses with markets, investors and potential partners.

She noted that the fourth edition, IATF2025, held in Algiers, generated $50 billion in trade and investment deals, demonstrating the growing appetite for African commerce and investment.
According to her, IATF has evolved beyond a conventional exhibition into a platform for expanding market access, promoting African products and services, attracting investment and strengthening regional and continental value chains.

She said the first four editions of the fair attracted more than 180,000 participants and 6,600 exhibitors from 132 countries, generating cumulative trade and investment deals valued at more than $167 billion.

Awani said the data demonstrated that the major challenge facing African businesses was not a lack of capacity or demand, but the difficulty of connecting enterprises to opportunities and providing them with the support needed to execute transactions at scale.
She also cited the report, The Impact of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) on Development and Trade, 2018–2024, which found that 62.4 per cent of concluded IATF deals directly supported intra-

African trade, representing more than $8.5 billion per edition since 2018.
The report also showed that nearly 360,000 small businesses and SMEs have benefited from the fair, including women- and youth-led enterprises.

Awani added that the employment impact of IATF was significant, with about 42 jobs created for every $1 million invested in the fair, translating into more than half a million direct employment opportunities across the continent per edition.
She called for greater use of digital platforms such as IATF Virtual to sustain business engagements beyond the physical event.

According to her, such platforms can help exhibitors maintain visibility, enable governments and corporations to follow up on business leads and facilitate year-round dialogue, particularly for SMEs facing travel, logistics and cost barriers.

With Nigeria scheduled to host IATF2027 in Lagos from November 5–11, 2027, Awani said the country was strategically positioned to drive the continent’s industrialisation agenda.
She said Nigeria’s large market, resource base and industrial potential placed it at the centre of the success of AfCFTA.

“Nigeria is uniquely positioned to drive the industrialisation the continent needs,” she said, pointing to the country’s oil and gas industry, solid minerals such as lithium, iron ore and gold, as well as its agricultural commodities.

She urged Nigerian and African businesses to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by AfCFTA, noting that capacity-building, export-readiness programmes, certification support and partnerships with institutions such as the Nigerian Export Promotion Council and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria were helping SMEs prepare for cross-border trade.

Awani also highlighted investments in Lagos, including the Lekki Deep Sea Port, logistics corridors, industrial clusters and business development hubs, as important foundations for expanding Nigeria’s role in continental trade.

IATF2027 is expected to target more than $50 billion in trade and investment deals, over 100,000 visitors and more than 2,500 exhibitors.

Themed “Global Africa, Smart Trade: From Market Access to Market Power,” the Lagos edition is expected to build on the momentum generated by previous fairs and strengthen Africa’s capacity to trade, invest and compete as an integrated market.

Awani said the priority now was to ensure that the momentum generated by IATF and AfCFTA was converted into sustained and exponential growth in intra-African trade.