From Senegal to South Africa, Africa is witnessing a quiet but decisive shift in the way trade is conducted. (Image source: dmg Nigeria events)

From Senegal to South Africa, Africa is witnessing a quiet but decisive shift in the way trade is conducted

With global trade soaring to an unprecedented US$33 trillion in 2024, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), developing regions like Africa are playing an increasingly prominent role in global commerce.

At the heart of this transformation lies the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a landmark agreement that encompasses 55 countries, uniting a population of 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of US$3.4 trillion. Despite this immense potential, the practicalities of sourcing, logistics, and supply chain management continue to hinder progress for many industrial players.

The shift to digital platforms is offering a promising solution. Dr Jumoke Oduwole, Minister at the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment, highlighted the continent’s growing digital momentum, “The continent’s digital economy is projected to reach US$180bn by 2025, up from US$115bn in 2020, thus contributing significantly to Africa’s GDP, creating new job opportunities, and expanding regional trade. Digital trade is transforming the continent’s economic landscape, creating new opportunities for real economic growth, productive job creation, and poverty reduction.”

Among the digital innovators driving this shift is Matta, a platform built to streamline industrial trade through a unified digital ecosystem. Mudiaga Mowoe, Matta’s Founder and CEO, explained, “Building on this rapid expansion, our focus must shift from isolated digital initiatives to a fully integrated ecosystem that streamlines every step of trade—sourcing, supplying, logistics and payments. By integrating these functionalities on a single platform, Matta enables manufacturers to navigate sourcing headaches and suppliers to manage cross-border complexities with confidence and unlocks new markets in Africa in real time. This holistic approach is what will transform digital trade’s potential into tangible, inclusive economic growth across Africa.”

Currently, Matta’s offerings include its digital marketplace (www.Matta.Trade), the Flux logistics coordination platform, and the soon-to-launch Oxide Finance, which will handle trade financing and cross-border payments. Together, these tools provide an end-to-end solution for manufacturers and suppliers across multiple industries—from food and personal care to automotive assembly and textiles—allowing them to manage sourcing, logistics, and transactions seamlessly and sustainably.

Instead of displacing traditional trading models, Matta enhances them, providing real-time insights, verifiable supply chains, and fast, secure settlements. These innovations will be spotlighted at the West Africa Industrialisation, Manufacturing & Trade (West Africa IMT) Summit and Exhibition, scheduled for 21–23 October, 2025.

The summit will convene policymakers, investors, technology leaders, and manufacturers to explore actionable solutions for Africa’s industrial growth. Matta will join key industry players at the event to explore digital opportunities in West Africa’s industrial landscape. As more manufacturers look beyond just infrastructure and regulations to scale production, the demand for smart systems that streamline procurement and ensure supply chain stability is growing.

Matta’s integrated approach meets these demands head-on by directly linking manufacturers with trusted suppliers, helping them overcome procurement delays that often hamper operational efficiency.

Digital trade platforms are reshaping how African economies approach manufacturing and logistics—addressing procurement, coordination, payments, and planning all at once. With these technologies, West Africa is poised to accelerate its industrial development and strengthen its presence in global trade networks.

As countries across Africa pursue economic self-determination, platforms like Matta are playing a crucial role in speeding up industrial capability and competitiveness. The continent’s digital trade evolution is not just on the horizon—it’s already transforming the future of African commerce.

The MoU will boost coverage for the agricultural sector, starting in Zambia

ARC Ltd and Klapton Reinsurance Limited (Klapton Re) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Lusaka, Zambia, for a new partnership that adds to the growing momentum across the continent to strengthen protection against climate risks

The collaboration brings together a development insurer with expertise in disaster risk financing and a private reinsurer with a strong footprint in African markets — two complementary players joining efforts to broaden access to practical, locally-adapted insurance solutions for vulnerable communities.

“This partnership is about complementing each other’s strengths to drive real change,” said Lesley Ndlovu, CEO of ARC Ltd.

“ARC brings expertise in designing climate insurance solutions tailored to African needs, while Klapton Re brings deep market knowledge and access to communities on the ground. Together, we can bring climate risk insurance to scale and ensure no one is left behind.”

The initiative comes at a time when the effects of climate change are being felt more widely and severely across Africa.

By pooling technical know-how, regional networks and local implementation capacity, the two sides aim to expand the reach of climate insurance in ways that are responsive to both immediate recovery needs and long-term resilience goals.

This agreement lays the foundation for a continent-wide collaboration to bring affordable and accessible climate insurance to people who need it most — especially small-scale farmers and families vulnerable to droughts, floods and other natural disasters.

By combining ARC Ltd’s deep expertise in data-driven insurance solutions with Klapton Re’s strong local presence and client networks, the two organisations are set to scale up protection for African lives and livelihoods.

“At Klapton Re, we see this collaboration as a unique opportunity to combine innovation with tailor-made reinsurance capacity,” said Kudzai Bingepinge, CEO of Klapton Re.

“By partnering with ARC Ltd, we’re enhancing our ability to deliver relevant and impactful insurance solutions, starting in Zambia and expanding across the continent. It’s about making climate protection real and reliable for the people who need it most.”

Under the MoU, ARC Ltd and Klapton Re will work together on several fronts to help African countries better manage climate risks before disasters strike.

They will co-develop and roll out new insurance products tailored to the needs of farmers and low-income families, enabling them to recover more quickly from climate-related losses.

The first programme is set to launch in Zambia in November 2025, focusing on protecting rangeland areas vulnerable to drought.

In addition, the two organisations will support local insurance companies by providing technical expertise in risk assessments and product development, both before and after weather events.

They also plan to deliver training for brokers, agents, and other key actors to strengthen the overall insurance ecosystem.

Ghana International Bank to boost intra-African trade. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Ghana International Bank (GHIB) has signed a trade finance facility worth US$50mn to boost intra-Africa business across a number of sub-Saharan markets

The funding package covers Sierra Leone, Liberia, The Gambia, Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania.

It is supported by British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution.

Under a Master Risk Participation Agreement (MPRA), the US$50mn package will enable GHIB to support more businesses and facilitate trade flows in the target countries.

It addresses the general lack of credit appetite for frontier markets in Africa for reasons including high risk perception and comparatively lower volumes.“

At GHIB we believe our success over the last 65 years is rooted in a deep understanding of African risk,” said Dean Adansi, GHIB’s CEO.

“This partnership with British International Investment represents a viable path through which we can structure partnerships that leverage this deep knowledge of risk into profitable and impactful transactions.”

Increased trade finance can also enable local firms to import the commodities and equipment they need to sustain and grow their businesses.

The collaboration leverages GHIB’s extensive network and track record in trade finance and allows BII to engage in a partnership that addresses the expanding trade finance gap in African markets, especially under challenging economic conditions.

BII’s involvement brings essential foreign exchange dollar liquidity, critical for the import of key goods to GHIB’s operating markets.

“With this deal, we are employing a structure that uses our deep knowledge and access of the market, harnessed together with the superior scale and capacity of BII,” said Adansi.

“Together, we are bringing this to support and expand opportunity in these emerging markets enabling real GDP growth. Our research indicates that each dollar of trade unlocks about US$1.3 into the GDP of our markets. We will work to make this deal a success, as it will open the way for more liquidity injections into the market.”

BII’s country director for Ghana, Kwabena Asante-Poku, said many African countries have faced challenging economic conditions in recent years that have impacted growth and livelihoods.

“Trade remains a key driver of growth for African economies especially in frontier markets like Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia. Enhancing the flow of trade credit and financial intermediation to these markets will ensure access to essential goods and services which in turn drives sustainable and inclusive economic growth,” said Asante-Poku.

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Ecobank is championing Africa's female entrepreneurs. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Ecobank has expanded its innovative ‘Ellevate’ financing offer to further assist the growth of Africa’s women entrepreneurs

The bank has expanded its programme — now named ‘Ellevate 2.0’ to become “bigger, better and more inclusive”, it said in a statement, supporting individual entrepreneurs, including those in the formal and informal sectors.

“We recognise and applaud the role that women entrepreneurs play in driving socio-economic impact across Africa and are committed to supporting them at every stage of their entrepreneurial journey,” said Jeremy Awori, Ecobank’s CEO, Ecobank.

“Since the launch of the Ellevate programme we have made significant progress, disbursing over US$200mn in loans, providing business networking opportunities, and offering leadership and capacity-building training for businesswomen.”

From supporting corporate businesswomen, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs to individual entrepreneurs, and those in the informal sector, all can now benefit from its enhanced financial and non-financial solutions, he noted.

“Today, Ellevate 2.0 heralds in a new era for gender financing. It is bigger, better and more inclusive, delivering exceptional value to female entrepreneurs and women business leaders. Enhancing our products and solutions for women entrepreneurs to position Ecobank as their bank of choice is an integral component in accelerating the success of our Growth, Transformation and Returns strategy’s objectives. It also supports our group-wide objective of promoting gender equality and contributing to sustainable development.”

The initiative was first established to bridge the gender financing gap for Africa’s women entrepreneurs and to strengthen Ecobank’s commitment to women-owned, women-led, and women-focused businesses.

The enhanced Ellevate 2:0 offer now includes increasing access to finance with unsecured loans of up to US$50,000, competitive interest rates and favourable collateral requirements, as well as accommodating customers with a two-year track record instead of the industry-standard three years.

Ecobank has also pledged to help its clients identify new customers and access new markets across Africa through its innovative online matchmaking MyTradeHub platform.

The enhanced programme will be launched by nine of Ecobank’s affiliates in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Senegal, Togo and Zimbabwe by the end of March 2025.

It will then be rolled-out in phases across all our other sub-Saharan African affiliates throughout the year.

The World Bank estimates that closing the gender gap in Africa could add US$2.5trn to the continent's GDP by 2025, underscoring the urgency of investing in women – not just for social justice, but for a more prosperous and equitable future for all Africans.

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