Cross-Border trade: Africa moves toward single digital market

African businesses could see faster payments, lower transaction costs and easier access to regional markets if the planned continental digital trade corridor under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) succeeds in addressing long-standing barriers to cross-border trade.

In an exclusive interview with Graphic Business, the Executive Director of the AfCFTA Policy Network Group, Louis Yaw Afful, said the initiative represented a major shift in the way African countries trade with one another.

According to him, African trade had for years been slowed down by border delays, high transaction costs, paperwork burdens and payment difficulties, making it expensive for businesses, especially small firms, to expand beyond their local markets.

Mr Afful explained that the digital trade corridor was expected to digitise major trade processes and improve coordination among customs authorities across participating countries.

He said the project would reduce dependence on manual systems that had created inefficiencies and increased the cost of moving goods across borders.

“Many businesses have spent unnecessary time and money moving goods across borders because of paperwork, delays and payment bottlenecks. The digital trade corridor would help solve many of these problems and improve intra-African trade,” he said.

Beyond speeding up trade, he said the system would also improve transparency by enabling businesses to track goods electronically and verify trade documents online.

He explained that reducing physical paperwork and human interference at borders could also help minimise corruption and informal charges often faced by traders on African trade routes.

SMEs and payments

Mr Afful said small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which formed a significant part of Africa’s business sector, stood to benefit greatly from the initiative.

He said many SMEs had struggled to access regional markets because of high banking costs and complicated payment systems, forcing some businesses to rely on informal channels for cross-border transactions.

“The integration of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System would allow businesses to trade in local currencies instead of relying mainly on the US dollar. That would reduce transaction costs and improve efficiency for traders across Africa,” he said.

He argued that broader participation was needed to make the payment system more effective and inclusive.

Mr Afful said the Bank of Ghana (BoG) should create opportunities for fintech companies to participate more actively in PAPSS instead of leaving the system mainly in the hands of traditional banks.

According to him, fintech firms had the capacity to increase access to digital payments and support smaller businesses and informal traders that were often excluded from formal banking systems.

He warned that despite the potential benefits of the project, several challenges could affect implementation across the continent.

Mr Afful cited poor digital infrastructure, unstable internet connectivity, unreliable electricity supply and differences in regulations among African countries as some of the major obstacles facing the initiative.

“Political commitment and collaboration among African governments would determine how successful the project becomes because implementation remains one of the biggest challenges in Africa,” he said.

He also raised concerns about cybersecurity threats and weak data protection systems, saying countries would need stronger safeguards to build trust in digital trade systems.

Digital identity

Mr Afful further explained that digital identity systems would become an important part of the continent’s trade transformation agenda.

He said many traders and businesses had faced verification and documentation challenges when operating across borders, making transactions slower and more difficult.

“Digital identity systems would help customs officials, banks and payment platforms quickly confirm the identity of traders and businesses. That would reduce fraud and improve confidence in cross-border transactions,” he said.

He added that digital identity systems could also help bring informal businesses into the formal economy, giving them better access to financing opportunities, regional markets and government support programmes under AfCFTA.

Background

The planned digital trade corridor was announced by the Vice-President, Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, during the opening of the 3i Africa Summit 2026 in Accra.

She said Ghana would partner with Rwanda, Zambia and other countries to pilot the initiative, which would test mobile money interoperability, cross-border digital identity systems and harmonised electronic invoicing.

According to the Vice-President, the initiative would help eliminate delays and high costs associated with routing intra-African transactions through external financial systems, while strengthening direct local currency payments through PAPSS.

“Building integrated digital systems at scale remains critical to unlocking Africa’s trade potential and ensuring that the continent competes effectively in the global digital economy,” she said.

The event was organised by the Bank of Ghana in collaboration with the Global Finance & Technology Network and the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems on the theme: “The next frontier: shaping Africa’s integrated FinTech future.”