How  ATC  2026 Redefined Africa’s 

Trade Execution Challenge

Last week in Cape Town, the Access Bank Africa Trade Conference confronted an uncomfortable truth—Africa’s global trade share remains small despite its vast workforce and mineral wealth. The question is, why has vision not become velocity, writes Festus Akanbi

When policymakers, financiers, entrepreneurs, and development institutions gathered in Cape Town on Wednesday for the 2026 edition of the Access Bank Africa Trade Conference (ATC), the tone of the conversation reflected a subtle but important shift in Africa’s economic discourse. Rather than revisiting familiar diagnoses of the continent’s trade challenges, participants focused on a more practical question: how can Africa accelerate trade within its own borders while strengthening its role in global commerce?

Convened by Access Bank Plc, the conference returned for its second edition under the theme ‘Turning Vision into Velocity: Building Africa’s Trade Ecosystem for Real-World Impact.’ The theme captured the central premise of the gathering: Africa already possesses the vision for economic integration, but must now generate the institutional momentum to translate that vision into measurable trade flows.

Africa’s Persistent Trade Gap

At the opening of the conference, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank, Roosevelt Ogbonna, returned to a familiar yet uncomfortable reality: Africa still accounts for only a small share of global trade despite its vast population, resource wealth, and expanding consumer markets.

For decades, economists have pointed out that Africa trades less with itself than almost any other region of the world. Fragmented transport corridors, inconsistent regulatory regimes, and limited access to trade finance continue to slow the movement of goods and services across national borders. Small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular, often struggle with the high costs and administrative barriers associated with cross-border commerce.

Yet the purpose of the conference, Ogbonna emphasised, was not simply to repeat those observations. The 2026 gathering was designed as a continuation of the inaugural ATC held in 2025, at which participants agreed on a set of priorities to reshape Africa’s trade ecosystem.

Those priorities included breaking down long-standing silos among policymakers, financial institutions, and businesses; building trade systems supported by reliable data and analytics; and creating platforms that serve both large corporations and smaller enterprises seeking to operate across multiple African markets.

The central message, Ogbonna suggested, was that progress would depend on sustained collaboration among institutions that have historically operated in isolation.

Emerging Signs of Structural Change

Despite the well-known obstacles, speakers at the conference noted that the landscape of African trade is slowly evolving.

Across sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and services, regional value chains are gradually emerging. Food processing industries are expanding in several countries, consumer goods manufacturers are increasingly supplying markets beyond their national borders, and service exports, particularly in digital and business process sectors, are beginning to rise.

African brands are also establishing a stronger presence across the continent, building regional recognition and, in some cases, expanding into global markets. These developments signal a modest shift away from the continent’s historical dependence on exporting raw commodities toward a more diversified economic structure.

Technology is playing an important role in this transformation. Digital platforms are reducing friction in payments, logistics coordination, and market access, enabling businesses to navigate cross-border trade more efficiently. For smaller enterprises, especially, such platforms provide opportunities that were previously difficult to access.

Nevertheless, these gains remain uneven. Policy reforms, infrastructure improvements, and technological adoption have advanced more rapidly in some markets than in others, leaving many trade corridors across the continent underdeveloped.

A Continent Rich in Potential

Providing a broader overview of Africa’s trade environment, Tolu Oyekan of Boston Consulting Group highlighted the contrast between the continent’s economic potential and its current trade performance.

Africa, he noted, possesses several structural advantages that could support deeper economic integration. The continent has the youngest population in the world, with a median age of under 20, creating an expanding workforce and a rapidly growing consumer base.

In addition, Africa holds large reserves of critical minerals required for the global energy transition. These resources, used in technologies such as batteries, renewable energy systems, and electric vehicles, are becoming increasingly central to global industrial supply chains.

Perhaps most significantly, the continent now operates under the policy framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the largest free trade area in the world by the number of participating countries. The agreement is designed to reduce tariffs, harmonise trade regulations, and facilitate the movement of goods across African markets.

Together, these elements provide the foundation for stronger intra-African commerce. The challenge lies in translating these structural advantages into consistent trade flows and productive regional value chains.

Moving Beyond Commodity Dependence

A recurring theme at the conference was the structure of Africa’s exports. Many economies across the continent remain heavily dependent on primary commodities such as crude oil, minerals, and unprocessed agricultural products.

While these exports generate foreign exchange, they often capture limited value within Africa itself. Processing, industrial learning, and technological development frequently occur elsewhere, where raw materials are transformed into finished products.

However, participants pointed to emerging pockets of diversification. Light manufacturing is expanding in selected industrial corridors, regional food processing industries are gaining momentum, and pharmaceutical production capacity is gradually developing across several African markets.

These trends remain modest in scale, but they indicate the early stages of a broader industrial transition, one that could gradually anchor more value creation within African economies.

Infrastructure and the Financing Challenge

Infrastructure deficits continue to present a major constraint on African trade. According to Kennedy Mbekeani of the African Development Bank, limited transport networks, energy supply gaps, and inefficient logistics systems raise the cost of moving goods across the continent.

Many governments face fiscal constraints that limit their ability to finance large infrastructure projects through public expenditure alone. As a result, mobilising private capital has become increasingly important for closing Africa’s infrastructure gap.

Yet some participants argued that the relationship between infrastructure and trade is more dynamic than often assumed. Rather than waiting for perfect infrastructure before expanding commerce, rising trade volumes can themselves attract investment by demonstrating the commercial viability of transport corridors and logistics hubs.

The Strategic Case for Intra-African Trade

Against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, and shifting global trade patterns, the conference emphasised the strategic importance of strengthening commerce within Africa itself.

Greater intra-African trade could enable firms to scale production, deepen supply networks, and build regional competitiveness before entering global markets. Economic projections suggest that full implementation of the AfCFTA could significantly increase exports across the continent, raise incomes, and reduce poverty over the coming decades.

Yet speakers repeatedly stressed that trade agreements alone cannot deliver these outcomes. Implementation, through financing platforms, payment systems, logistics corridors, and regulatory coordination, is what ultimately transforms policy frameworks into commercial activity.

From Dialogue to Execution

By the close of the conference, one conclusion had become clear: Africa’s trade transformation will depend less on new declarations and more on coordinated execution.

Platforms like the Access Bank Africa Trade Conference are intended to bring together the institutions capable of driving that execution, from policymakers and financiers to manufacturers and entrepreneurs.

For Ogbonna, the task ahead is straightforward but demanding. Africa must move beyond discussions and begin translating its economic potential into tangible trade flows.

“This conference must not end as another talking shop,” he told participants.

If the deliberations in Cape Town are any indication, the continent’s trade debate is gradually moving from aspiration toward implementation. The vision for African economic integration has long existed. The challenge now lies in generating the velocity required to make it real.