AfCFTA is the vehicle to drive us toward a new era of inclusive, sustainable prosperity – Wamkele Mene
Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, His Excellency Wamkele Mene, has said that as the Intra Africa Trade Fair (IATF) 2025, holding in Algiers, capital of Algeria, is celebrating the remarkable successes recorded since its inception, it must pay attention to four important issues that will further fast forward achievement of its noble objectives.
Ambassador Mene, who said this in his remarks at the opening session of the IATF2025 at Algeria’s International Conference Center (CIC), identified the issues as connectivity, especially implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market; inclusivity, through the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund; mobilisation of more resources, particularly local and diaspora funds for development; and ensuring that Africa’s transformation is green.
IATF, the premier Trade Fair in Africa, which has as its theme for 2025 “Gateway to New Opportunities,” is being organized by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in partnership with the African Union Commission and AfCFTA Secretariat and is being hosted by the government of Algeria. More than 35,000 participants, 2,000 exhibitors, and over US$44 billion in trade and investment deals are expected to be recorded before the end of event on September 10.
Numerous past and present Presidents, Heads of Government, Heads of international organizations, top executives of Afreximbank and other financial institutions are among those attending the high profile Fair, which Ambassador Mene said has become “Africa’s marketplace, where businesses, investors, governments, and innovators come together to turn policy into practice.”
He explained that the IATF has so far succeeded in bridging the continent’s trade and investment information gaps, enabled businesses to expand market access, showcased African products and services, and attracted much-needed investment, noting that it has also most importantly, “become the place where real partnerships are built, deals are signed, and regional value chains are strengthened.”
According to the AfCFTA Secretary General, the results of the efforts of the past, in terms of numbers, have been monumental, which, he said, highlights “our determination to trade with one another,” stressing, however, that “the true success of IATF lies not only in numbers; but in the jobs created, the SMEs empowered, the women and youth integrated into value chains, and the new markets unlocked.”
He pointed out that the theme for this year’s Fair reflects, not only Algeria’s “role as a hub connecting the continent’s markets,” but “our collective ambition to make the AfCFTA the driver of Africa’s economic transformation.” He stressed the urgency of this ambition, noting that “the current global context, with its uncertainties and shifting trade patterns, reminds us that Africa must act with unity and urgency.”
He insisted that “to build resilience and safeguard our collective interests, we must accelerate implementation of the AfCFTA,” which, he noted, is already delivering. He pointed out that Intra-Africa trade, according to Afreximbank’s African Trade Report 2025, indeed, “rebounded strongly in 2024, reaching $220.3 billion, a 12.4% increase from 2023, a recovery which “underscores growing confidence in Africa’s integration model under the AfCFTA.”
He noted that besides the figures, “the data shows a gradual shift in the continent’s trade composition,” pointing away from the dominance of primary commodities to “a clear growth in machinery, motor vehicles, food products, chemicals, and electronics.” He said the shift, which signals our continent’s transition from raw commodity dependency toward industrial diversification, will only be sustained by stronger logistics and manufacturing value chains.”
Ambassador Mene also pointed out that the adoption of the eight protocols and such operating instruments as rules of origin, the e-Certificate of Origin, the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, Private Sector Engagement Strategy and the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund, will translate to laying the foundation for a single continental market, which will open new avenues for e-commerce, fintech, and ICT-enabled services, which will in turn “generate millions of jobs for Africa’s young people and ensure that the continent is not left behind in the global digital economy.”
It is for all the gains so far recorded to be sustained and improved upon that Ambassador Mene recommends, as top priorities, the four issues that must be urgently addressed, including the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market, the opening of Africa’s skies, the expansion of the continent’s passenger and cargo services, investment in trade corridors, logistics hubs, and digital infrastructure “so that our agreed rules translate into real opportunities on the ground.”
In this regard, he insisted that the current reality, which compels Africans traveling to some destinations in the continent, to first transit through cities in Europe to reach their destinations, as happened with many of the delegates to IATF2025, must change in favour of more connectivity between African nations, among other advantages, to lower costs and bring the people closer together.
He also stressed the importance of the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund, which will be officially launched during the IATF2025. The Fund, he said, will go a long way towards ensuring that no country or company is left behind, noting that it will not only “cushion short-term revenue losses and help our private sector adapt, it will provide the support that makes this integration inclusive.” He said further that it is also “a strong signal that integration is not only about ambition, but also about solidarity and practical support for those who need it most.”
The AfCFTA boss equally noted that “we must mobilise more of our own resources,” especially domestic investors and African diaspora, who, he admitted, “represent powerful engines of growth.” He stressed that “if we channel diaspora remittances and capital into priority value chains, from agro-processing and automotive to pharmaceuticals and digital industries, we can create the investment momentum that transforms economies from within.”
He also insisted that the continent’s transformation must be green, stressing that the concern should not just be for more trade but for better trade: “trade that supports renewable energy, sustainable industrialisation, and climate resilience, pointing out that “by embedding green industrialisation into our value chains today, we ensure that Africa’s growth story is also a sustainability story.”
All said, Ambassador Mene urged the distinguished delegates to use IATF 2025, not only as a showcase, “but as a platform for action and concrete commitments; to sign MoUs and business deals, to launch ventures, to mobilise investments, and to build stronger regional value chains,” concluding that “through our collective efforts here, let us send a clear message to the world: Africa’s market is open for business, our future is in our own hands, and the AfCFTA is the vehicle that will drive us toward a new era of inclusive, sustainable prosperity.”
