The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is set to strengthen digital trade across the continent with the establishment of a $5.17 billion AfCFTA Digital Trade Corridor, a major initiative designed to make cross-border business faster, easier and more connected. The AfCFTA Secretariat and Quest Ghana Limited signed a definitive joint venture agreement to develop the project, with Seychelles providing sovereign support and hosting the venture’s headquarters in Victoria.
The digital corridor is expected to provide the infrastructure needed to support a more integrated African market. Key components will include a digital African Minerals and Commodities Exchange, digital marketplace, cross-border interoperable payment system, logistics services, and trading, tracking and settlement platforms for commodities and minerals. The initiative is expected to help businesses move beyond traditional trade barriers and take greater advantage of digital technology.
The project comes as African governments and businesses push to increase intra-African trade from about $200 billion to $500 billion and beyond. It also supports AfCFTA’s wider goal of creating a single African market serving more than 1.4 billion people. By improving access to digital infrastructure, the corridor could create new opportunities for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, young entrepreneurs and women traders seeking to expand beyond their domestic markets.
AfCFTA Secretary-General, Wamkele Mene, described digital infrastructure as critical to the continent’s economic ambitions, saying seamless and secure systems would help African businesses trade more easily across borders. He also welcomed Seychelles’ decision to host and support the initiative, while Seychelles’ Minister of Finance, Economic Planning, Trade and Investment, Pierre Laporte, said the project could transform how African countries conduct business.
With the joint venture now backed by Seychelles’ Cabinet approval, attention will shift to implementation of the $5.17 billion digital trade corridor. If successfully delivered, the project could become an important piece of Africa’s digital economy by connecting marketplaces, payments, logistics and commodity trading systems across borders—and bringing the vision of a more integrated African market closer to reality.
source: The guardian
