International Trade Centre executive director Coke-Hamilton with AfCFTA Secretariat secretary-general, Wamkele Mene, at the signing ceremony on the sidelines of Biashara Afrika 2026.
Image: Supplied
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and International Trade Centre have renewed their partnership to accelerate practical trade opportunities for African businesses under the AfCFTA.
The renewed memorandum of understanding was signed on Monday on the sidelines of Biashara Afrika 2026, a platform that brings together policymakers, business leaders, financiers and trade partners to strengthen intra-African trade and investment.
The agreement signals a shift from negotiating the AfCFTA framework towards implementing practical measures aimed at enabling businesses to trade more easily across the continent.
The partnership was signed by AfCFTA secretary-general Wamkele Mene and ITC executive director Pamela Coke-Hamilton.
Mene said the success of the AfCFTA would ultimately depend on whether African businesses are able to trade across borders with fewer barriers and greater opportunities.
“The success of the AfCFTA will ultimately be measured by the extent to which African businesses are able to trade across borders with greater ease and opportunity,” he said.
He added that the renewed partnership with ITC would help create practical commercial opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), women-owned businesses and youth-led enterprises across the continent.
Coke-Hamilton said the agreement comes at a time of significant shifts in global trade and increasing uncertainty in the international trading system.
“Our renewed partnership is about translating the AfCFTA into real trading opportunities for African businesses, especially small businesses, so they are better able to access new markets on the continent,” she said.
Research by the ITC estimates that intra-African trade could increase by an additional $22 billion annually by 2029 under the AfCFTA through tariff reductions and the development of regional value chains.
The renewed agreement aligns with the African Union’s African Union Agenda 2063 and the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
The AfCFTA, which was signed in 2018, entered into force in 2019 and began trading in 2021, is regarded as one of the fastest-negotiated agreements within the African Union system. The agreement aims to create a single African market covering all 55 African Union member states and more than 1.3 billion people.
The trade pact covers trade in goods and services, digital trade, investment protection, intellectual property rights and competition policy, among other areas.
According to AfCFTA estimates, the agreement has the potential to increase intra-African trade by more than 52% through tariff liberalisation and trade facilitation measures.
The renewed cooperation between the AfCFTA Secretariat and ITC will focus on market access and trade facilitation, inclusive entrepreneurship, institutional capacity building and improving access to market intelligence and trade information.
The organisations said a strong emphasis would also be placed on co-creating programmes and initiatives that deliver practical results for African businesses and regional value chains.
The agreement comes amid growing concerns over disruptions in global supply chains, geopolitical tensions and increasing protectionism in parts of the world economy, factors that have strengthened calls for deeper regional integration across Africa.
The partnership is expected to support efforts to diversify African economies, strengthen industrialisation and expand opportunities for SMEs and smallholder farmers seeking access to regional markets.
BUSINESS REPORT