Ghana Drives AfCFTA Agenda to Strengthen Intra-African Trade

Ghana is accelerating the rollout of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to unlock broader opportunities for local businesses by moving beyond the export of raw commodities like gold, oil, and cocoa, and focusing on value addition.

At the Ghana Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2025 Business Roadshow, Minister for Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry, Hon. Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to fostering a business-friendly environment under AfCFTA through improved infrastructure, financing, and access to markets.

“Under our Market Expansion Programme, the National AfCFTA Coordination Office is providing firm-level support to over 2,000 MSMEs in Ghana. This includes sensitization, market readiness training programmes, training on AfCFTA’s Rules of Origin, trade finance and market access initiatives. Ghana has also conducted targeted trade expeditions to East Africa, taking Ghanaian businesses to Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda to explore real-time opportunities and negotiate supply contracts,” the Minister said in a speech read on her behalf by the Acting National Coordinator, National AfCFTA Coordination Office, Benjamin Kwaku Asiam.

The Ghana roadshow convened government representatives, business leaders, investors, and executives from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) under the theme: Harnessing Regional and Continental Value Chains: Accelerating Africa’s Industrialisation and Global Competitiveness through AfCFTA.

The event was one of five scheduled across Accra, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Lagos, and Algiers ahead of the fourth edition of the biennial Intra-African Trade Fair 2025 (IATF2025), to be held from 4–10 September 2025 in Algiers, Algeria. Organized by Afreximbank in collaboration with the African Union Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat, IATF is Africa’s premier platform for showcasing products and exchanging trade and investment information within the continent’s single market.

In his keynote address, the Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, H.E. Wamkele Mene, emphasized the significance of the fair in promoting trade across the continent.

“As we work to scale up intra-African trade, build regional value chains, and accelerate industrialisation, IATF serves as a key platform for connecting African businesses, investors, governments, and innovators. It is a catalyst for turning the promise of AfCFTA into concrete outcomes: trade deals signed, investments mobilised, and jobs created. By establishing a large, integrated market, AfCFTA encourages countries to specialize and add value to products, attracting investment and creating jobs,” H.E. Mene said, adding that this supports economic diversification, poverty reduction, and Africa’s vision for sustainable and inclusive development.

Dr. Yemi Kale, Afreximbank’s Group Chief Economist & Managing Director, Research, described IATF as AfCFTA’s commercial marketplace.

“One of the persistent barriers to intra-African trade is not tariffs or logistics alone—but also access to accurate, timely, and actionable market intelligence. Trade cannot flourish in the absence of information,” Dr Kale said. He invited Ghanaian businesses and government agencies to participate in IATF2025, where over 2,000 exhibitors from Africa and beyond will showcase their products to more than 35,000 visitors and buyers from over 140 countries, with trade and investment deals projected to exceed US$44 billion.

Cumulatively, IATF has drawn over 4,500 exhibitors, more than 70,000 visitors, and enabled over US$100 billion in trade and investment deals. The last edition in Cairo attracted nearly 2,000 exhibitors from 65 countries, resulting in US$43.7 billion worth of signed agreements.

The upcoming IATF2025 will be hosted by the Government of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria. Speaking at the roadshow, Algeria’s Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Mourad Louhaidia, welcomed participants to Algiers and assured of the host nation’s commitment to supporting a seamless and successful fair through robust infrastructure and simplified entry processes for attendees.