Stakeholders in trade and investment have moved to strengthen intra-African trade and investment, simplify access to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and create stronger connections between businesses, investors and markets across the continent.

They spoke on Friday at a press briefing ahead of the Future Africa Trade and Investment (FATI) Expo 2026, scheduled to hold from November 5 to 10 in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

The stakeholders said Africa’s vast natural resources, youthful population, growing markets and entrepreneurial capacity would have greater economic impact if barriers to cross-border trade were removed and businesses were connected to capital, technology and new markets.

International Chairperson and Project Visionary of FATI Expo, Ofiepre Valentina Amiebi-Uchegbu, said the continent had enormous potential, but that potential alone was not enough without stronger economic connections.

She said the expo was designed to bring governments, investors, businesses, financial institutions, development partners and entrepreneurs together to turn discussions into business relationships and investment opportunities.

She said: “Our continent, Africa, has enormous potential, but our potential alone is not enough. We have resources, we have the markets, we have the talent, and we also have a young and ambitious population.

“What we need is to connect those opportunities with the markets, with the capital, with the technology, and with the right partnerships,” she said.

According to her, the expo would feature investment forums, business matchmaking, exhibitions and investment meetings, with focus on agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, energy, technology, finance, infrastructure and the blue economy.

She said the choice of Zanzibar was strategic because of its position within the wider Indian Ocean economic space and its potential to facilitate connections between East and West Africa as well as international markets.

“We are not going to Zanzibar simply to talk about Zanzibar. We are taking Africa to Zanzibar,” she said.

Uchegbu added that the organisers wanted investors from one part of Africa to discover opportunities in another, while businesses would be able to find new customers and partners and governments could connect directly with potential investors.

National Coordinator, NACCIMA Youth Entrepreneurs (NYE), Amb. Dr. Sameera Abubakar Abdullahi, said African businesses needed a simpler and more accessible understanding of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) if they were to take full advantage of the continental trade framework.

She said NACCIMA was working with relevant stakeholders to make the provisions of AfCFTA easier for entrepreneurs and market women to understand and use.

“It’s too difficult,” she said, stressing the need to “break it down to a layman market woman and then an entrepreneur so that he can understand the policy and how he can break the barriers.”

Abdullahi said the chamber community, with its network of bilateral, multilateral, sectoral, women and youth chambers, was well positioned to support efforts aimed at expanding trade across African markets.

She also called for greater use of the  to take information on trade opportunities and policies to grassroots businesses.

Director-General of NOA, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said Africa must move beyond exporting raw materials and develop industries capable of creating greater value within the continent.

Represented by the Deputy Director, Youth Engagement and Inclusion, Muhammed Saidu, the NOA DG said industrialisation and value addition will ensure that Africa stops exporting raw materials and starts building prosperity at home.

He said cross-border trade and intra-African investment would give practical meaning to AfCFTA, while business matchmaking could help connect entrepreneurs and producers with capital and markets.

He urged Nigerian entrepreneurs, young investors and business leaders to use the platform to showcase their products and build partnerships across the continent.

Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Musa Musawa, represented by Assistant Director in the ministry, Alice Onoriode, expressed the ministry’s support for the initiative and encouraged stakeholders to participate actively in the expo.

The FATI Expo, according to the organisers, is being organised by the Amdua Youth Impact Initiative through the International Joint Secretariat of FATI Expo, with the Zanzibar Ministry of Blue Economy and Fisheries as co-host.

Other partners include the Zanzibar Investment Promotion Authority, National Orientation Agency, Nigeria-Tanzania Business Forum, KLEBER Group and Women Community in Africa