Lack of access to trade and market information by traders and investors continues to hinder regional trade, the African Import and Export Bank (Afreximbank) has warned.
Afreximbank's intra-African Trade Initiative Managing Director Kanayo Awani says the information gap means African investors are still losing out on potential opportunities to access and expand to the regional and continental markets.
She, however, noted the bank's biennial Intra-African Trade Fair that was launched in 2018 as a springboard for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is helping bridge the gap.
Organized by Afreximbank in collaboration with the African Union (AU) and the AfCFTA Secretariat, the Fair brings together development, trade and investment communities to negotiate deals and agree on the steps required to promote intra-regional trade.
"We help buyers and traders connect and also investors connect (at the fair)," she said on Friday in a statement.
"Intra African trade provides us with a unique opportunity to industrialise and expand," said Ms Awani.
Kenya has ratified the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which allows free movement of goods from one country to another.
The AfCTA, which became effective this year, aims to become the world’s largest trade zone since the World Trade Organization in 1994, with the potential to boost African incomes by billions of dollars in the next decade.
The regional pact aims to establish a single market that will spur industrialisation, infrastructural development, economic diversification and trade.
As part of efforts to drive trade the Afreximbank backed second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2021) was held in Durban, South Africa.
During the recent fair, 500 deals totalling $42.1 billion in trade and trade-related investment deals were inked.
The 2021 Intra-African Trade Fair attracted 1,161 exhibitors and 30,000 participants of which 11,828 were in person. The next Trade Fair will be held in 2023 in Côte d’Ivoire.
"The $42.1 billion in trade and investment deals that were generated reflected the record participation, a well-thought-out platform, diversity and depth of goods and services showcased and a rich programme," said Afreximbank's president Benedict Oramah in a statement.
“The IATF 2021, which comes after the commencement of trade under the AfCFTA on 01 January 2021, is a practical instrument that connects buyers and sellers and provide trade and market information to facilitate intra-African trade under the AfCFTA…” added Wamkele Mene, the Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat in a statement.
