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Africa stands at the brink of transformative change—powered by artificial intelligence (AI), digital platforms, and a collective ambition to redefine intra-African and global trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), says Haytham El Maayergi, Executive Vice President at Afreximbank.
Speaking during Plenary Session five of an ongoing high-level forum on economic development in Abuja, Nigeria on Thursday, El Maayergi called for a united effort to harness technological advancements as tools for inclusive socio-economic progress.
“We meet at a defining point in history, where Artificial Intelligence, data, and digital platforms are not only transforming how we live, but also how we trade, finance, and grow our economies,” he told delegates including government ministers, technocrats and private sector leaders.
While acknowledging the digital transformation already reshaping global trade—such as machine learning optimizing logistics and AI detecting customs fraud—El Maayergi emphasized that Africa’s unique position is not a weakness, but a launchpad for leapfrogging legacy systems.
“We still face fragmented systems, manual customs, a $120 billion trade finance gap, and high payment costs. But this is not failure—it is opportunity,” he stated.
He highlighted the Africa Trade Gateway (ATG) as Afreximbank’s flagship initiative to tackle these gaps by integrating several AI-driven platforms to simplify and streamline trade.
These include the MANSA for due diligence and trust-building via Africa Entity Identifiers (AEIs), PAPSS for real-time local currency payments, TRADAR for AI-based trade intelligence, and ATEX for linking African buyers and sellers digitally.
“These platforms are not aspirational—they are operational,” El Maayergi said, underscoring their role in materialising the vision of AfCFTA.
Concrete examples of Africa’s digital shift were also cited: Nigerian SMEs using e-commerce to boost exports by 30 percent, Egypt reducing customs clearance time by 50 through through AI, and Kenyan FinTech firms expanding micro-enterprise financing using machine learning.
“These innovations show that AI and digital technologies are not just digitizing trade—they are democratizing it,” he said.
El Maayergi warned that ambition and digital tools must be backed by hard infrastructure, enabling policies, and leadership.
“We need broadband access, data centers, smart regulation, and governance. AI cannot function without reliable data. Digital trade will stall before it starts,” he said.
El Maayergi also extended a direct invitation to stakeholders across the continent.
“Get your exporters and importers into the African common platform. The ATG will succeed only if we are there together,” he said.
He also urged financial institutions and businesses to embrace the Africa Entity Identifier (AEI)—a digital passport for trading under AfCFTA.
“We may have missed the industrial revolution, but let’s not miss the AI and digital revolutions. The future belongs to those who prepare for it today,” he said.
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