Access Bank Calls for Unified Stakeholder Action to Boost Intra-African Trade

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, Mr. Roosevelt Ogbonna, has emphasized the importance of stronger collaboration among policymakers, financiers, and businesses to accelerate trade within Africa and unlock the continent’s economic potential. He made this call at the Access Bank Africa Trade Conference (ATC 2026) held in South Africa, where he highlighted the need to address lingering structural barriers that continue to restrict intra-continental commerce despite Africa’s vast market opportunities.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Ogbonna noted that the conference was convened to continue the dialogue initiated during the inaugural edition in 2025 on how Africa can expand trade within its borders while increasing its participation in global markets. He pointed out that Africa’s share of global trade remains relatively small and that fragmented trade corridors and structural bottlenecks are major obstacles to growth.

His words, “The reality is that Africa still controls a small share of global trade. The corridors are still fragmented and more aspirational than functional, and too many small businesses that aspire to trade across Africa remain constrained”.

Speaking further, Ogbonna recalled that last year’s conference identified three key priorities for transforming Africa’s trade landscape: (i) breaking down silos between policymakers, financial institutions, and businesses, (ii) building a trade ecosystem driven by reliable data and analytics, and (iii) developing systems to support both large corporations and small businesses seeking cross-border expansion.

He stressed that the 2026 edition is not a fresh start but a continuation of ongoing efforts to foster meaningful progress in intra-African trade. According to him, some strides have been made since the last conference, with emerging value chains in agriculture, manufacturing, and services, and African brands gaining recognition beyond borders.

Ogbonna also highlighted the growing role of technology platforms in reducing friction in payments, logistics, and market access. However, he acknowledged that progress remains uneven across the continent, with advancements concentrated in select markets and trade corridors.

Addressing infrastructure financing, Kennedy Mbekeani, the Director General for Southern Africa at the African Development Bank (AfDB), called for increased mobilization of private capital to fund critical infrastructure projects that could unlock Africa’s full trade potential. “The mobilisation of private capital remains crucial as many African governments are constrained by limited fiscal space and overstretched balance sheets. The mobilisation of capital, particularly private capital, is something that we need to work on,” he stated.

In a panel discussion, Zambia’s Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Chipoka Mulenga, emphasized that policy alignment among African nations was essential to unlocking trade potential. “Policy is very important in making anything come together. It must be consistent, resilient and coherent. If intra-African trade must be enhanced, we must deliberately craft policies that speak the same language across our countries. We should leverage our comparative advantages, rather than competing with one another,” Mulenga explained.

Ghana’s Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ajare, added that Africa already possesses many policy frameworks but faces challenges in harmonized implementation. “Africa does not lack policies; we already have many. Our challenge is the implementation of these policies in a harmonised manner. That is what we must focus on to make trade work effectively across the continent,” she said. She also stressed the importance of mutual recognition frameworks to facilitate cross-border trade, stating, “If we insist on verifying every product independently, we will not make progress. Harmonising standards and recognising each other’s certification processes will allow us to trade more efficiently.”

Botswana’s Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Tiroeaone Ntsima, echoed the need for enabling environments that foster business and investment growth. “The governments of today are not like those of the 1960s where everything was done by government. Our role now is to create an enabling environment for businesses and investors to thrive,” he said. He further shared Botswana’s strategic repositioning as a key trade corridor, transforming from a “landlocked” nation to a “land-linked” one, emphasizing the importance of connecting markets through regional corridors.

Concluding the session, Access Bank’s Executive Director for African Subsidiaries, Seyi Kumapayi, urged stakeholders across Africa to move beyond dialogue and take concrete steps to strengthen trade relationships. “This conference must not end as another talking shop. It must become the birthplace of a movement that contributes to transforming intra-African trade,” he urged.