The fifth edition of the Trade Finance Report, published by the African Development Bank (AfDB), highlights the resilience of African financial institutions in the post-COVID period, against a global backdrop still marked by economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
Released on the sidelines of the AfDB Annual Meetings in Brazzaville, the 2025 report analyses developments in trade finance across the continent over the 2020–2024 period. It highlights structural changes in Africa’s banking sector, as well as efforts made to support trade flows in a constrained environment.
The document shows that intra-African trade accounted for 34% of total bank-financed trade between 2020 and 2024, representing an 89% increase compared to the 2011–2019 period, reflecting a gradual strengthening of regional trade links.
The report also underscores the critical role played by commercial banks and development finance institutions (DFIs) in sustaining trade flows. It introduces new analytical dimensions, including the digitalisation of financial services and environmental sustainability, while also assessing for the first time the contribution of DFIs to trade finance in Africa.
During the presentation, Anthony Simpasa, Director of Macroeconomic Policy, Forecasting and Research at the AfDB, said that unmet demand for trade finance had declined by nearly 10% between 2019 and 2024, thanks to combined interventions by multilateral development banks, governments and international partners.
However, he warned that geopolitical tensions and disruptions in global supply chains could reverse these gains.
“The resurgence of tensions and the reduced risk appetite of correspondent banks could wipe out the progress made,” he cautioned, estimating that the trade finance gap could reach between $86.6 billion and $102.6 billion by 2027 under a downside scenario.
The report notes that in 2024, Africa’s trade finance gap was estimated at between $74 billion and $92 billion, equivalent to 5.4% of the continent’s total merchandise trade. It adds that commercial banks covered only 23% of African trade on average over the period under review, compared with 40% between 2011 and 2019.
Foreign exchange shortages remain a major constraint, cited by 36% of surveyed banks as the main barrier to trade finance, up from 18% in the 2015–2019 period. In addition, the adoption of digital tools remains limited, with only 28% of banks reporting their use.
The report launch brought together policymakers, private sector actors, financial institutions and trade experts from across the continent in Brazzaville.
During a panel discussion held on the sidelines of the presentation, several participants shared their insights. Admassu Tadesse, President of the Trade and Development Bank Group, highlighted the potential of innovations such as digitalisation and guarantee mechanisms to expand access to financing, calling for systemic initiatives such as the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD).
Didier Acouetey, Senior Advisor to the AfDB President on the private sector, said NAFAD provides a structuring framework to sustainably reduce the trade finance gap, particularly for African SMEs.
Francisca Tatchouop Belobe, Commissioner at the African Union Commission, stressed the need to address the “missing middle,” noting that SMEs remain underfunded despite their key role in the economy.
Finally, Mehdi Tanani, Regional Director for Proparco in Central Africa, called for the development of a more resilient, digital and sustainable financing ecosystem rather than the accumulation of additional constraints.
According to the AfDB, development finance institutions facilitated an average of $32 billion in trade finance per year between 2020 and 2024, representing around 3% of Africa’s total merchandise trade.
Launched in 2013, the AfDB trade finance programme conducted its first survey in 2014 and has since published several reports, including country-specific studies on Kenya and Tanzania.
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