Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s President, has urged African nations to increase intra-continental trade, describing the current rate of 16% as unacceptably low. He stated that Nigeria is actively strengthening its domestic policies to boost commerce with other African countries.
President Tinubu made the remarks while welcoming African policymakers, innovators, investors, and private sector leaders to Lagos for the AfCFTA Digital Trade Forum 2026. The two-day event, running from 1 July to 2 July 2026, centres on the theme “Digital Trade for a Connected African Market”.
The forum convenes regional leaders to accelerate the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Trade Protocol and expand regional e-commerce. President Tinubu declared that Africa must move from aspiration to execution, transitioning from paper agreements to tangible economic prosperity for its people.
Metrics and technological integration
Intra-African trade is currently estimated at $213.8bn, representing a 5.47% increase year-on-year. Despite steady improvement under the AfCFTA framework, continental exchange hovers around 16% of Africa’s total global commerce, lagging significantly behind trade integration levels seen in Europe and Asia.
