Africa: $31bn Risk Premium Threatens Africa's Regional Trade Ambitions

Africa: $31bn Risk Premium Threatens Africa's Regional Trade Ambitions

African businesses are increasingly looking to expand across the continent, but high financing costs, limited access to trade finance and gaps in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are threatening to constrain regional commerce.

Africa’s trade ambition runs faster than systems built to support it

African business leaders are signalling growing confidence in the continent’s commercial future even as the financial and institutional barriers to doing business across borders remain stubbornly high. New findings from the 2026 PAFTRAC Africa CEO Trade Survey show that 81.3 percent of senior executives expect their cross-border business activity to increase over the next 12 […]

Credit risk and policy gaps still hinder intra-African trade

Preliminary results from the 2026 PAFTRAC Africa CEO Trade Survey – presented at the WTO Public Forum in Geneva – reveals that 81,3% of senior executives expect their cross-border activity to expand over the next 12 months. Intra-African commerce has overtaken China, Europe, and the US as executives’ principal target destination. However, intra-African merchandise trade […]

Africa: $31bn Risk Premium Threatens Africa’s Regional Trade Ambitions

African businesses are increasingly looking to expand across the continent, but high financing costs, limited access to trade finance and gaps in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are threatening to constrain regional commerce. This is contained in preliminary findings of the 2026 PAFTRAC Africa CEO Trade Survey presented at the […]

$31bn Risk Premium Threatens Africa’s Regional Trade Ambitions

African businesses are increasingly looking to expand across the continent, but high financing costs, limited access to trade finance and gaps in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are threatening to constrain regional commerce. This is contained in preliminary findings of the 2026 PAFTRAC Africa CEO Trade Survey presented at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Public Forum in Geneva. The survey found that 81.3…