By Ernest Bako WUBONTO
Managing Director, Research and Group Chief Economist, Afreximbank, Dr. Yemi Kale, has underscored the importance of quality and swift information flow as a critical tool for effective intra-African trade. He argued that not only physical trade barriers and tariffs but also access to information remain a major hurdle for intra-African trade, and it’s holding back the continent’s full economic potential.
With fragmented data systems, limited digital infrastructure, disconnected sub-regional blocs trade rules, and weak institutional support, the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector, constituting about 90 percent of businesses and described as the backbone of African economies, is unable to access trade information to effectively participate in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Dr. Kale stressed that many African countries lack accurate, centralised, and transparent trade databases, making it hard for businesses to access market intelligence, tariffs, and regulations. “One of the persistent barriers to intra-African trade is not tariffs or logistics alone, but also access to accurate, timely, and actionable market intelligence. Trade cannot flourish in the absence of information,” he said.
He demonstrated the striking illustration of this gap found in the leather industry. “Tunisia, Morocco, and South Africa collectively import over US$400 million worth of leather goods annually, primarily from Europe and South America—even though countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, and Sudan possess both the capacity and the quality to supply a significant portion of that demand. The problem here is not capacity; it is connectivity,” he emphasised.
Similarly, he mentioned that Ghana and other African countries source beef and other animal protein from Brazil, among other South American countries, while other countries on the continent can deliver. “West African countries spend over US$3 billion annually importing meat products from countries as distant as Brazil, Argentina and Australia, while nations such as Mali, Namibia, Chad, Sudan, Botswana, and South Africa have the production capacity to meet much of this demand within their borders,” he added.
Dr. Kale lamented that these imbalances are not merely economic inefficiencies—they represent missed opportunities for job creation, value addition, and economic diversification across the continent. He made these remarks on the theme: ‘Harnessing Regional and Continental Value Chains: Accelerating Africa’s Industrialization and Global Competitiveness under the AfCFTA’.
Intra-African Trade Fair 2025
Speaking ahead of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2025, which will take place from 4 to 10 September in Algiers, Algeria, he emphasised the increasing relevance of the IATF as the commercial face of the AfCFTA. He made a call that Africa must trade more with itself, not only in raw materials, but in value-added goods, services, and innovations.
An idea he described as the engine behind the African Continental Free Trade Area and the Intra-African Trade Fair. “We must therefore see IATF not just as a marketplace, but as a strategic tool for implementation. It is where policy meets practice, and where Africa’s trade integration agenda is converted into real-world transactions and transformative outcomes,” he reiterated.
