Ghana is redefining its role in Africa’s trade landscape by transforming from a raw material exporter into a regional hub for value-added trade, leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to drive industrialisation, business expansion, and job creation.

At the Ghana Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2025 Business Roadshow, government officials and trade leaders reiterated Ghana’s strategic commitment to the AfCFTA as a vehicle for deepening regional integration, industrial growth, and competitive participation in the continental marketplace.

Representing the Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Hon. Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, the Acting National Coordinator of the National AfCFTA Coordination Office, Benjamin Kwaku Asiam, highlighted Ghana’s progress in unlocking access to Africa’s $3.4 trillion market. 

He noted that under the Market Expansion Programme, more than 2,000 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana have received support to engage in cross-border trade.

“This includes sensitization, market readiness training programmes, training on AfCFTA’s Rules of Origin, trade finance and market access initiatives. Ghana has also conducted targeted trade expeditions to East Africa, taking Ghanaian businesses to Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda to explore real-time opportunities and negotiate supply contracts,” Asiam said.

The Roadshow, one of five being held ahead of the main IATF2025 event in Algiers, Algeria, brought together business leaders, policymakers, and representatives from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). The forum was held under the theme: Harnessing Regional and Continental Value Chains: Accelerating Africa’s Industrialisation and Global Competitiveness through AfCFTA.

AfCFTA Secretary General, H.E. Wamkele Mene, in his keynote address, described the IATF platform as a marketplace for African entrepreneurs and investors to forge partnerships and unlock growth.

“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 mobilised, and jobs created,” Mene said, emphasising that Africa must move away from dependency on raw exports and invest in industrialisation to reap AfCFTA’s full benefits.

Reinforcing this message, Afreximbank’s Group Chief Economist, Dr. Yemi Kale, underscored that information asymmetry remains a major trade barrier, not just tariffs or transport.

“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,” Dr. Kale explained, inviting Ghanaian businesses to take full advantage of IATF2025, which is expected to attract over 2,000 exhibitors and 35,000 visitors from more than 140 countries, with deals exceeding US$44 billion.

Cumulatively, past editions of IATF have generated over US$100 billion in trade and investment agreements, positioning the biennial event as a major driver of Africa’s economic agenda.

Algeria’s Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Mourad Louhaidia, assured participants of a seamless experience during IATF2025 in Algiers, stating that visa processes for Ghanaian participants will be expedited through a dedicated support desk at the Algerian Embassy in Accra.

Beyond trade, IATF2025 will showcase the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) for the creative industry, the Africa Automotive Show, business matchmaking sessions, youth-focused innovation hubs, and country-specific exhibitions that highlight tourism, culture, and diaspora engagement.

Ghanaian IATF Ambassador and Oakwood Green Africa Chairman, Gabriel Edgal, called for a shift in mindset among African nations, stating that intra-African trade is no longer optional, but a necessity in a world where global economic alliances are shifting inward.

“I believe this is a wake-up call, that we need to be now more deliberate about trading among ourselves, to create interconnected prosperity, to trade among ourselves, build with ourselves, and grow for ourselves. It is time for action,” Edgal said.