Ghana is fast-tracking implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to unlock new opportunities for Ghanaian businesses across Africa by moving beyond commodity-based trade toward value addition for its traditional exports such as gold, oil and cocoa.
Speaking during the Ghana Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2025 Business Roadshow, Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare highlighted government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment so businesses can thrive under AfCFTA by improving trade infrastructure, financing and market access.
“Under our Market Expansion Programme, the National AfCFTA Coordination Office is providing firm-level support to over 2,000 MSMEs. This includes sensitisation, market-readiness training programmes, training on AfCFTA’s Rules of Origin, trade finance and market access initiatives.
“Ghana has also conducted targetted trade expeditions to East Africa, taking Ghanaian businesses to Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda to explore real-time opportunities and negotiate supply contracts,” the minister said in a speech read on her behalf by the Acting National Coordinator, National AfCFTA Coordination Office, Benjamin Kwaku Asiam.
The IATF2025 Business Roadshow brought together government officials, the trade community – including businesses and investors – and executives from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
The event focused on promoting intra-African trade under the theme ‘Harnessing regional and continental value chains: Accelerating Africa’s industrialisation and global competitiveness through AfCFTA’.
The Business Roadshow is one of five planned for Accra, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Lagos and Algiers ahead of the biennial Intra-African Trade Fair’s fourth edition – IATF2025 – scheduled to take place in Algiers, Algeria, between 4-10 September 2025.
IATF is Africa’s premier trade and investment event, held by Afreximbank in collaboration with the African Union Commission and AfCFTA Secretariat, providing a platform for businesses to showcase their goods and exchange trade and investment information within the continent’s single market.
In his keynote address, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, noted that IATF offers an unparalleled platform for the exchange of trade and investment information – and is a marketplace of ideas, opportunities and partnerships.
“As we work to scale up intra-African trade, build regional value chains and accelerate industrialisation, IATF serves as a key platform for connecting African businesses, investors, governments and innovators. It is a catalyst for turning the promise of AfCFTA into concrete outcomes: trade deals signed, investments mobilised and jobs created.
“By establishing a large, integrated market, AfCFTA encourages countries to specialise and add value to products – attracting investment and creating jobs,” he said, adding that this supports economic diversification, poverty reduction and Africa’s vision for sustainable and inclusive development.
Afreximbank’s Group Chief Economist and Managing Director, Research, Dr. Yemi Kale described IATF as AfCFTA’s commercial marketplace, which brings to life Africa’s efforts at trading more with itself – not only in raw materials but also value-added goods, services and innovations.
“Persistent barriers to intra-African trade are not only tariffs or logistics – but also access to accurate, timely and actionable market intelligence. Trade cannot flourish in the absence of information,” Dr. Kale said, adding that IATF2025 provides a platform for addressing this.
He invited Ghanaian businesses and government agencies to participate in IATF2025, where over 2,000 exhibitors from Africa and beyond will showcase their products to more than 35,000 visitors and buyers from over 140 countries… with trade and investment deals projected to exceed US$44billion.
Cumulatively, IATF has attracted over 4,500 exhibitors, more than 70,000 visitors and facilitated over US$100billion in deals.
The last edition held in Cairo attracted nearly 2,000 exhibitors from 65 countries and generated US$43.7billion in trade and investment deals.
The upcoming IATF2025 will be hosted by the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria’s government. Speaking at the Business Roadshow, Algeria’s Ambassador to Ghana, Mourad Louhaidia, welcomed visitors and exhibitors to Algiers – pledging his government’s commitment to ensuring a successful IATF2025 by mobilising transport and hospitality infrastructure and facilitating smooth entry for all participants into the country.
“The Algerian embassy will fast-track processing of visas for all participants from Ghana. We have set up a dedicated team at the embassy to handle all information requests and visa applications to participate in IATF2025,” Louhaidia added.
IATF2025 will feature a trade exhibition, the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme spotlighting cultural industries, a four-day trade and investment forum and the Africa Automotive Show.
Special Days will highlight countries, public and private sector entities, tourism, cultural attractions and Global Africa Day celebrating ties with the African diaspora.
Additional activities include business-to-business and business-to-government matchmaking, the AU Youth Start-Up programme, Africa Research and Innovation Hub and African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network (AfSNET) to promote local trade and cultural exchanges.
The IATF Virtual platform is also live, connecting exhibitors and visitors all year round. Ghanaian IATF Ambassador and Chairman-Oakwood Green Africa, Gabriel Edgal said: “Long before borders were drawn, Africa thrived as a connected economy. Trade was a way of life. Value was created locally.
“Progress moved through relationships and exchange. Across the world, we see increasing protectionism. Traditional aid partners are looking increasingly inward. The global economic tide is shifting and everybody is focusing on themselves instead.
“I believe this is a wake-up call – that we need to now be more deliberate about trading among ourselves, to create interconnected prosperity, to trade among ourselves, build with ourselves and grow for ourselves. It is time for action.”
Ghana has been recognised as a leading example in AfCFTA implementation, with government actively facilitating private sector participation through the National Coordination Office and initiatives like the Guided Trade Initiative, which has seen Ghanaian companies successfully trade with neighbouring African countries.
