Ghana is accelerating the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to unlock new opportunities for Ghanaian businesses across Africa, moving beyond commodity-based trade toward value addition in traditional exports such as gold, oil, and cocoa.

Speaking during the Ghana Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2025 Business Roadshow, Ghana’s Minister for Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, highlighted the government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive under AfCFTA. This includes improving trade infrastructure, financing, and market access.

“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,” the minister said in a speech read on her behalf by the Acting National Coordinator of the National AfCFTA Coordination Office, Benjamin Kwaku Asiam.

She also noted that Ghana has undertaken targeted trade missions to East Africa, taking Ghanaian businesses to Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda to explore real-time opportunities and negotiate supply contracts.

The Ghana IATF2025 Business Roadshow brought together government officials, members of the trade community—including businesses and investors—and executives from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

The event focused on promoting intra-African trade under the theme: Harnessing Regional and Continental Value Chains: Accelerating Africa’s Industrialisation and Global Competitiveness through AfCFTA.

The Business Roadshow is one of five being held in Accra, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Lagos, and Algiers ahead of the fourth edition of the biennial Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2025), scheduled to take place in Algiers, Algeria, from 4–10 September 2025.

IATF is Africa’s premier trade and investment event, organized by Afreximbank in collaboration with the African Union Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat. It provides a platform for businesses to showcase goods and exchange trade and investment information within the continent’s single market.

In his keynote address, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, described IATF as an unparalleled platform for the exchange of trade and investment information, calling it a “marketplace of ideas, opportunities, and partnerships.”

“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 mobilized, and jobs created.

“By establishing a large, integrated market, AfCFTA encourages countries to specialize and add value to their products, attracting investment and creating jobs,” Mene said. He added that the initiative supports economic diversification, poverty reduction, and Africa’s vision for sustainable and inclusive development.

Dr. Yemi Kale, Afreximbank’s Group Chief Economist and Managing Director of Research, described IATF as the commercial engine of AfCFTA, bringing to life Africa’s ambition to trade more with itself—not just in raw materials but also in value-added goods, services, and innovations.

“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 emphasized, adding that IATF2025 provides a platform to address this gap.

He invited Ghanaian businesses and government agencies to participate in IATF2025, where over 2,000 exhibitors from Africa and beyond are expected to showcase their products to more than 35,000 visitors and buyers from over 140 countries, with projected trade and investment deals exceeding US$44 billion.

Cumulatively, IATF has attracted over 4,500 exhibitors and more than 70,000 visitors, facilitating over US$100 billion in deals. The last edition, held in Cairo, featured nearly 2,000 exhibitors from 65 countries and generated US$43.7 billion in trade and investment deals.

The upcoming IATF2025 will be hosted by the Government of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria.

Speaking at the Business Roadshow, Algeria’s Ambassador to Ghana, Mourad Louhaidia, welcomed visitors and exhibitors to Algiers, pledging his government’s commitment to facilitating a successful IATF2025. He noted that Algeria would mobilize transport and hospitality infrastructure and ensure the smooth entry of all participants.

“The Algerian embassy will fast-track visa processing for all participants from Ghana. We have set up a dedicated team at the embassy to handle all information requests and visa applications related to IATF2025,” Louhaidia added.

IATF2025 will feature a trade exhibition; the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme spotlighting cultural industries; a four-day Trade and Investment Forum; and the Africa Automotive Show.

Special days will be dedicated to showcasing countries, public and private sector entities, tourism, cultural attractions, and a Global Africa Day celebrating ties with the African diaspora.

Additional activities include business-to-business and business-to-government matchmaking, the AU Youth Start-Up programme, the Africa Research and Innovation Hub, and the African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network (AfSNET) to promote local trade and cultural exchanges. The IATF Virtual Platform is also live, connecting exhibitors and visitors year-round.

Ghanaian IATF Ambassador and Chairman of Oakwood Green Africa, Gabriel Edgal, remarked, “Long before borders were drawn, Africa thrived as a connected economy. Trade was a way of life. Value was created locally. Progress moved through relationships and exchange.”

“Across the world, we are seeing increasing protectionism. Traditional aid partners are turning inward. The global economic tide is shifting. This is a wake-up call—we must now be more deliberate about trading among ourselves to create interconnected prosperity. It is time to trade among ourselves, build with ourselves, and grow for ourselves. It is time for action.”

Ghana has been recognized as a leading example in AfCFTA implementation, with the government actively facilitating private sector participation through the National Coordination Office and initiatives like the Guided Trade Initiative, which has enabled Ghanaian companies to successfully trade with neighboring African countries.

Organized by Afreximbank in collaboration with the African Union Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat, the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) is designed to provide a unique platform for facilitating trade and investment information exchange, supporting increased intra-African trade and investment in the context of the AfCFTA’s implementation.

IATF brings together continental and global players to exhibit their goods and services and explore business and investment opportunities across the continent. It also provides a platform for sharing market insights, identifying trade and investment solutions, and addressing the challenges confronting intra-African trade.

AM/KA

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