AfCFTA Secretariat, Bergmans Sign MoU on Customs Modernisation 

Oluchi Chibuzor 

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the AfCFTA Secretariat has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bergmans Security Consultant and Supplies Limited to implement a concession for the AfCFTA customs modernisation project (ACMP).  

The signing ceremony took place in Lagos, recently, on the sideline of the Digital Trade Forum 2026.

The Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene and the Chairman of Bergmans Security Consultant and Supplies Limited, Saleh Ahmadu, described the initiative as a pivotal moment in the digital transformation of African trade and Customs infrastructure, towards actualising the African Union Agenda 2063. 

Speaking on the agreement, Ahmadu said that the MoU forms the basis of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement under which Bergmans will undertake the required investment in deploying a comprehensive, Pan-African digital and physical infrastructure to harmonize customs processes, enhance trade corridors, and streamline cross-border movement of goods across all State Parties.

According to him, “Recall that Bergmans Security Consultant and Supplies Limited is the parent company of trade modernisation project (TMP) Limited, the concessionaire to the Federal Government of Nigeria for the implementation of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) modernisation project. This project, a Presidential initiative which is also private sector-led, has already recorded tremendous success with global recognition.”

For Mene, the aims is to simplify trade for all African businesses, but in particular small and medium enterprises. 

He noted that their objective is to make sure that continental customs systems are interoperable and that they are easily understood by economic operators.