Africa’s push to boost trade within the continent under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) faces a major setback unless urgent action is taken to close a massive trade finance gap estimated at between US$80 billion and US$120 billion annually.
This is contained in the 2026 African Trade Report released by Afreximbank, which highlights limited access to trade finance as one of the biggest structural challenges slowing down regional economic integration and industrial growth across Africa.
Although AfCFTA has created one of the world’s largest single markets, the report notes that many African businesses are still unable to access the funding needed to fully participate in cross-border trade. This challenge is particularly severe for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which form the backbone of most African economies.
The financing shortfall is affecting businesses’ ability to secure working capital, import raw materials, execute export orders, and expand operations into other African markets.
According to the report, the gap is driven by several factors, including high perceived sovereign risk, weak credit systems, limited risk appetite among banks, and high transaction costs across many countries on the continent.
These issues, it adds, are preventing the private sector from fully taking advantage of AfCFTA, despite ongoing efforts by governments to reduce tariffs and ease trade barriers.
The report further warns that while progress has been made in trade liberalisation, access to finance is now becoming the bigger obstacle to increasing trade between African countries.
It stresses that unlocking AfCFTA’s full potential will require more than tariff reductions. Instead, African policymakers must focus on building stronger financial systems that can effectively support production, exports, and regional trade flows.
To address the challenge, Afreximbank recommends expanding trade finance facilities, strengthening credit guarantee systems, and adopting blended finance models that can attract more private sector investment into trade.
It also calls for increased investment in digital trade platforms, industrial development, and efficient payment systems to make African businesses more competitive and reduce reliance on external markets.
The report concludes that unless the continent successfully bridges the trade finance gap, efforts to boost industrialisation, strengthen regional value chains, and grow intra-African trade may not achieve their full impact.
