The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is currently in the process of rolling out a cross-border trade platform in 2021 to enhance market access and trade connectivity for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) across the continent.
The digital platform will enable SMEs to expand their reach and explore growth opportunities in the AfCFTA.
“We are exploring various digital-enabled platforms that aim at enhancing market access, trade connectivity of SMEs to new markets across the continent,” Secretary-General of the AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene told a gathering in Accra.
The portal will connect buyers and sellers, as well as service providers such as financial institutions across the free trade zone, thus, serving as an ecosystem of partners for SMEs to meet their financing and business needs in the new digital economy.
“We intend to launch this digital platform for trade for SMEs in time for the start of trading scheduled for January 2021,” Mr. Mene said.
A major hurdle to intra-African trade has been the high cost of foreign exchange transaction costs which curbs SMEs’ ability to trade across the continent.
In 2019, the AfriEximbank unveiled the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to domesticate payment and settlement to cut high transaction costs and delays. The new system will save Africa US$5 billion in payment transactions per annum.
Analysts say the success of the AfCFTA hinges on domestic solutions that will promote the use of local currencies.
