The three Intra African Trade Fairs have so far generated combined trade and investment deals of approximatelyUS$120 billion, Mrs Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade Bank, Afreximbank, has revealed.
The US$120 billion is a representation of new buyers in new markets across Africa, new industries, new sources of raw materials, investment and capital goods, government-to-government deals in critical sectors such as agriculture and agro-processing have also been forged, and African contractors have won major government projects.
The Intra-African Trade Fair has opened alternate routes for African trade and has become the platform for actualising the AfCFTA vision. It has also expanded and deepenedknowledge of the continent’s trading environment and enhanced the industrial capacity of African economies.
Mrs Awani made these known at the Host Agreement Signing Ceremony of the Intra-African Trade Fair 2025 (IATF2025) which took place in Algiers recently. The ceremony, which was hosted by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in collaboration with the African Union and the AfCFTA Secretariat, and the Government of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, paves the way for the fourth edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair to take place from 4 – 10 September 2025 in Algiers, Algeria.
The Signing Ceremony was attended by public and private sector institutions, African diplomatic corps, financial institutions, and trade and industry associations, and is intended to maximise awareness surrounding the upcoming IATF2025.
Attendees at the Signing Ceremony also had the opportunity to visit the Algerian Company of Fairs and Exports (SAFEX), which will be the venue for IATF2025.
In his remarks, H.E. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Chairperson of the IATF2025 Advisory Council and Former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, extolled the Intra-African Trade Fair as the go-to trade and investment event on the African continent.
He added that “the IATF2025 Hosting Agreement represents more than just a contractual agreement but it rather symbolises a collective responsibility of the partners for excellence and innovation in continuing the tradition of the Intra-African Trade Fair, which has become established as the AfCFTA Marketplace and the go-to trade and investment event on the African continent.
He added that the IATF has now a foremost event in the African calendar of economic, social, trade and even policy events. It is in the passionate pursuit of these goals that Afreximbank in collaboration with the African Union Commission and AfCFTA Secretariat are championing the noble cause of changing the socioeconomic landscape of Africa by devising progressive initiatives aimed at promoting intra-African trade and continental integration.”
In a statement delivered on behalf of H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General, AfCFTA Secretariat he described the importance of the Intra-African Trade Fair as Africa’sstrategic response to the challenge of trade information scarcity, aiming to enhance intra-African trade and investments, all without the need for outside help.
He finally emphasized that IATF serves as a symbol of hope and opportunity, breaking down conventional trade and investment barriers to unite the diverse yet cohesive African identity.
In a statement delivered on behalf of H.E. Ambassador Albert Muchanga, African Union Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals, highlighted that other regions of the world have proved that trade can be a powerful tool for economic growth.
His statement emphasised that trade amongst African countries is low and therefore AfCFTA has been designed to change the story.
The statement further said that AfCFTA is not only meant to boost Intra African trade, but it was meant to deal with Africa’s perennial challenges of job creation, high levels of poverty and very low levels of manufacturing and industrial base.
“It was designed to create a predictable legal framework for trade and investment, hence offering more guarantees to investors thereby bringing certainty and predictability to the African trading environment.” The statement stressed.
In his Closing Remarks, Jean-Louis Ekra, Former President of Afreximbank and Deputy Chairperson of the IATF2025 Advisory Council, praised “the power of African unity, shared purpose, and collective action towards a path taken to promote intra-African trade and investment.
The Intra-African Trade Fair is the African continent’s premier trade and investment event and provides a unique opportunity for exhibitors to showcase their goods and services, engage in Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Government (B2G) exchanges, network, establish new business contacts and conclude business deals. The event also gives delegates the opportunity to hear actionable insights from an array of experts on a wide range of trade and investment topics and opportunities at the IATF Trade and Investment Forum. The event also offers opportunities for participants from the Diaspora, creative industries including gastronomy and the culinary arts, to attend and showcase their goods, services and expertise. In addition, there will be training workshops covering exporting, standards and marketing.
Attendees at the IATF include businesses, buyers, sellers, traders and investors, captains of industry, senior government ministers, trade finance and advisory specialists, trade and economic organisations, senior executives from corporates and multinationals, innovative entrepreneurs and the media in one venue.
The highly successful third edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023) took place in Cairo, Egypt, from 9 – 15 November 2023, and attracted over 28,000 conference delegates, trade visitors and media, had 1,939 exhibitors from 130 countries, and witnessed US$43.8 billion of trade and investment deals being concluded.
