The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, Roosevelt Ogbonna, has called for deeper collaboration among policymakers, financial institutions, and businesses across Africa to accelerate intra-continental trade and unlock the continent’s vast economic potential.
Ogbonna made the call during the Access Bank Africa Trade Conference (ATC 2026) held in South Africa, where industry leaders, government officials, and development partners gathered to deliberate on strategies for strengthening trade relationships within Africa and enhancing the continent’s participation in global commerce
In his opening remarks, the Access Bank chief explained that the conference was designed to build on conversations initiated during the inaugural edition in 2025, with the aim of advancing practical solutions to Africa’s persistent trade challenges.
According to him, despite the continent’s enormous market opportunities, Africa continues to control only a small share of global trade due to fragmented trade corridors and structural bottlenecks that hinder seamless commerce across borders.
“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,” Ogbonna stated.
He further noted that stakeholders at the previous conference identified three strategic priorities required to transform Africa’s trade landscape. These include breaking down silos between policymakers, financial institutions and businesses, building a trade ecosystem powered by reliable data and analytics, and developing systems that support both large corporations and small enterprises seeking to expand across borders.
Ogbonna emphasized that the 2026 conference was not intended as a fresh start but rather a continuation of collective efforts aimed at making tangible progress in the promotion of intra-African trade.
“We have seen value chains emerging across agriculture, manufacturing and services, and we are seeing African brands crossing borders and building a global presence,” he said.
He also highlighted the growing role of digital technology platforms in reducing friction in cross-border transactions, particularly in areas such as payments, logistics and market access. However, he acknowledged that progress remains uneven across the continent, with many gains concentrated in a limited number of markets and trade corridors.
Addressing the issue of infrastructure financing, Kennedy Mbekeani, Director-General for Southern Africa at the African Development Bank (AfDB), stressed the importance of mobilising private capital to support the infrastructure required for Africa’s trade integration.
“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,” Mbekeani said.
From the government perspective, Chipoka Mulenga, Zambia’s Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, highlighted the critical role of policy alignment among African countries in driving intra-continental trade.
According to him, consistent and coherent policies across African states would enable countries to leverage their comparative advantages rather than compete against one another.
“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,” Mulenga said.
Similarly, Elizabeth Ajare, Ghana’s Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, observed that Africa does not necessarily lack policy frameworks but rather struggles with harmonised implementation across different jurisdictions.
“Africa does not lack policies; we already have many. Our challenge is the implementation of these policies in a harmonised manner,” she stated, adding that countries must adopt mutual recognition frameworks to facilitate cross-border trade.
“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,” Ajare added.
Also contributing to the discussion, Tiroeaone Ntsima, Botswana’s Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship, noted that modern governments must focus on creating enabling environments that empower businesses and investors to drive economic 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.
Ntsima further explained that Botswana is repositioning itself as a strategic trade corridor within the region.
“In the past we described ourselves as a landlocked country, but today we see ourselves as land linked. By creating corridors that connect markets across the continent, we open up new opportunities for trade and economic growth,” he noted.
In his closing remarks, Seyi Kumapayi, Executive Director for African Subsidiaries at Access Bank, urged stakeholders to move beyond dialogue and take practical steps that would strengthen trade relationships among African countries.
He stressed that Africa’s economic transformation would depend largely on the willingness of institutions and businesses to collaborate effectively.
“This conference must not end as another talking shop. It must become the birthplace of a movement that contributes to transforming intra-African trade,” Kumapayi said.
Industry observers note that initiatives such as the Access Bank Africa Trade Conference reflect growing private-sector commitment to strengthening economic integration across the continent and supporting the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which seeks to create a single market for goods and services across Africa.
As African economies continue to pursue deeper regional integration, experts believe sustained collaboration between governments, financial institutions, and businesses will remain essential to unlocking the continent’s full trade and development potential.
Caption:
L – R: Roosevelt Ogbonna, CEO/GMD, Access Bank Plc; Tiroeaone Ntsima, Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Republic of Botswana; Hon. Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, Minister for Trade, Agricbusiness and Industry, Ghana; Hon. Chipoka Mulenga, Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Republic of Zambia and Seyi Kumapayi , Executive Director, African Subsidiaries , Access Bank Plc at the 2nd edition of the Africa Trade Conference held in Cape Town, South Africa today , Wednesday, March, 11, 2026.
