The Federal Government has intensified its push to position local digital businesses to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), unveiling a combination of macroeconomic reforms, regulatory initiatives and market integration measures aimed at expanding cross-border digital commerce across Africa.
Speaking at the opening of the 2nd African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Trade Forum in Lagos yesterday, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, said Africa’s digital economy represented one of the continent’s biggest opportunities for accelerating economic integration, but warned that policy and regulatory barriers continue to limit the growth of digital businesses across borders.
The two-day AfCFTA Digital Trade Forum drew policymakers, regulators, development partners, investors and technology companies from across Africa to discuss strategies for implementing the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol and accelerating the development of a connected African digital market.
Addressing government officials, business leaders, investors and technology entrepreneurs from across Africa, the Minister said the era when trade was defined mainly by ports, highways and shipping routes was giving way to one driven increasingly by digital platforms and services.
‘When we talk about trade, we often think about ports, highways, rail corridors and shipping routes. Those investments remain essential, but trade is changing.
‘Today, a software developer in Lagos can serve a client in Nairobi. A business in Kigali can collaborate with partners in Accra without establishing a physical presence. Digital trade is opening new pathways for African businesses to grow, export and compete. The question is whether we are creating the conditions for them to do so,’ the minister said.
According to the minister, Nigeria’s information and communications technology sector now contributes nearly 18 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, while the country hosts about 28 per cent of Africa’s fintech companies. She added that with more than 60 per cent of Nigerians under the age of 25, the country possesses one of the continent’s largest pools of digital talent.
She said: ‘We believe digital trade is one of the most significant opportunities to accelerate Africa’s economic integration and transformation.
‘A business may build a world-class product in Lagos, but if it struggles to receive payments in another African market or must navigate completely different regulatory requirements every time it crosses a border, then we have not yet unlocked the full promise of the AfCFTA.’
The minister linked Nigeria’s digital trade ambitions to broader economic reforms undertaken by the Federal Government over the past three years.
She noted that inflation, which stood above 33 per cent three years ago, alongside foreign exchange distortions and declining capital inflows, had constrained investment. However, she said government reforms had improved macroeconomic stability, unified the foreign exchange market and strengthened investor confidence.
According to the Minister, capital importation exceeded $20 billion in 2025, compared with less than $4 billion three years earlier, while Nigeria’s sovereign outlook has been upgraded by all three major international credit rating agencies.
She also highlighted legislative reforms designed to support digital businesses, including the Tax Reform Acts, which simplify the country’s tax regime, and the Investment and Securities Act 2025, which provides regulatory clarity for crowdfunding, digital assets and emerging investment vehicles.
‘Our work on intellectual property also recognises software, creative content and innovation as valuable commercial assets that must be protected, commercialised and monetised.
‘Collectively, these reforms make it easier to build a digital services company in Nigeria, protect innovation and scale across Africa,’ she said.
Despite the opportunities created by the AfCFTA, the Minister observed that intra-African digital trade remains significantly underdeveloped.
She disclosed that only five per cent of Africa’s digitally delivered services are currently traded within the continent, describing the figure as evidence of a vast untapped market for African businesses.
‘That represents an extraordinary opportunity for intra-African trade, investment and digital transformation,’ she said.
As part of efforts to address the gap, the minister revealed that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment conducted the country’s first comprehensive mapping of Nigeria’s digital services ecosystem in April 2025.
The exercise, according to her, produced what she described as Africa’s first directory of digital services firms, organised by sector, while identifying five priority expansion markets for Nigerian companies: Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa. She explained that the mapping exercise also exposed shortcomings in existing business classification systems, many of which no longer adequately reflect the realities of today’s digital economy.
She said: ‘We found that many digital businesses no longer fit neatly within traditional industry classifications.
‘We are therefore updating our business classification framework to better reflect today’s digital economy, ensuring that our policies, incentives and support programmes are designed around the businesses that are actually driving growth.’
Africa’s digital economy could expand from an estimated $180 billion today to $712 billion by 2050, but only if governments accelerate the implementation of AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade, Secretary-General Wamkele Mene said.
Mene said digital trade has become the continent’s most powerful tool for overcoming decades of fragmented markets, costly cross-border transactions and inherited trade barriers.
‘The future of African trade is digital, and that future is no longer a distant aspiration. It is already unfolding across our continent,’ Mene said. ‘For the first time in a long time, Africa is not merely participating in global digital trade. We are shaping what digital trade in Africa will become, on our own terms.’
Mene praised the Federal Government leadership in advancing the agreement, describing the country as a continental leader in digital commerce. Nigeria serves as one of the AfCFTA’s Digital Trade Co-Champions alongside Kenya and South Africa and has become the first country to secure parliamentary approval for ratifying the Digital Trade Protocol.
He said the country’s position reflects the strength of its technology ecosystem, which remains the largest on the continent.
According to Mene, digital commerce is already transforming how Africans trade, allowing entrepreneurs to reach customers across borders without the traditional constraints of geography.
He noted that Africa’s digital economy currently contributes approximately 5.2 percent of continental GDP, with projections showing that it could account for 8.5 percent of GDP by 2050, representing a market valued at $712 billion.
One of the biggest drivers of that growth, he said, has been the rapid expansion of digital financial services.
‘Africa today accounts for roughly 70 percent of the world’s total mobile money transaction value,’ Mene said. ‘Unlocking mobile money across borders will unleash an explosion in intra-African trade, create millions of jobs and generate wealth for our people.’
He argued that integrated payment systems such as the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) are beginning to eliminate one of Africa’s most persistent obstacles to trade by enabling businesses to transact in local currencies instead of relying on the US dollar or euro.
He urged governments to harmonise digital trade regulations, invest in broadband infrastructure, strengthen cybersecurity frameworks and expand digital skills training, particularly for women, youth and small businesses. Lagos State Government reaffirmed its ambition to become Africa’s leading hub for digital commerce, declaring that the implementation of the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol presents an unprecedented opportunity to connect businesses across the continent and unlock a market of more than 1.4 billion people.
Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Folashade Bada Ambrose-Medebem, said digital trade is reshaping how African businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, participate in continental commerce.