The President of the Africa CEO Club, Fatoumatta Gaye, has called on African investors and business leaders to deepen collaboration and build stronger intra-African partnerships that will accelerate the continent’s economic transformation under the African Continental Free Trade Area framework.
Gaye said in a statement in Abuja that true continental development would only be achieved when Africa’s public and private institutions work hand in hand to drive cross-border trade, industrial growth, and youth empowerment.
“We believe that true transformation happens when leadership meets collaboration, when vision meets structure, and when institutions, public and private, come together to move our continent forward,” she said.
Gaye, who described collaboration as the “new currency of development”, urged African business leaders to look beyond national borders and invest in partnerships that strengthen the regional economy.
According to her, alliances among African countries would create new pathways for entrepreneurs to thrive, empower women to lead with confidence, and open opportunities for young people to innovate across borders.
“Through these alliances, we are creating new pathways for entrepreneurs to thrive, for women to lead with confidence, and for youth to find opportunities beyond boundaries,” she added.
Despite being home to over 1.4 billion people, Africa continues to trade more with the rest of the world than with itself. In recent years, intra-African exports have accounted for only about 16 per cent of the continent’s total exports, while intra-African trade (exports + imports) stands at around 15 per cent of Africa’s total trade, far below comparable regions such as Europe (68 per cent) and Asia (59 per cent).
Trade experts blame the low trade integration on structural barriers such as poor transport infrastructure, high tariffs, inconsistent customs regulations, and inadequate access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Many African economies also rely heavily on exporting raw materials to global markets rather than trading finished goods within the continent.
But the resilience of regional trade is beginning to pay off. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s trade with other African countries grew by N610bn in the first half of 2025 to N4.82tn, compared with N4.21tn recorded in the same period of 2024.
Gaye said the only way to deepen trade across Africa is through stronger collaboration among member states.
By rallying investors to think continentally, she said, Africa could unlock unprecedented opportunities for job creation and shared prosperity.
“As we sign these Memorandums of Understanding today, let them serve as a declaration of unity, that across our borders and differences, we remain one Africa with one mission: to build, to innovate, and to empower,” local media reports quoted Gaye as saying.
GIK/APA