Africa should scale back greenback reliance to strengthen intra-continental commerce – AfCFTA Secretary
Secretary Common of the African Continental Free Commerce Space (AfCFTA) Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, has known as for a major discount in Africa’s reliance on the US greenback in intra-continental commerce, arguing that the present dependence is each inefficient and unsustainable.
Talking on the 2025 Afreximbank Annual Conferences (AAM2025) in Abuja on Wednesday, Mene emphasised the pressing want for African international locations to undertake native currencies in cross-border transactions.
“Africa should scale back its reliance on the greenback; we should use our personal currencies. We should make sure the {economic} sovereignty of our continent and guard ourselves in opposition to ever-shifting world geopolitical tensions that have an effect on cost programs,” he said.
He reiterated that {economic} sovereignty is central to the long-term success of the AfCFTA, particularly in mild of world uncertainties that incessantly influence international trade markets and worldwide cost infrastructures.
Afreximbank’s Position and the Pan-African Fee Platform
Mene careworn the indispensable function of the African Export-Import {Bank} (Afreximbank) in facilitating the {financial} and institutional frameworks wanted to drive AfCFTA’s core objectives.
“With out the help of Afreximbank, the AfCFTA is not going to succeed. It requires commerce finance instruments, help for industrial growth, inexperienced commerce, and inexperienced industrialisation,” he mentioned.
Afreximbank, in partnership with AfCFTA, has developed the Pan-African Fee and Settlement System (PAPSS), a central infrastructure enabling seamless intra-African funds in native currencies.
PAPSS is designed to scale back transaction prices and foreign money conversion losses, and to strengthen the independence of African economies from unstable world financial developments.
Nigeria Launches AfCFTA Commerce Air Hall to Lower Export Prices
To additional encourage seamless commerce inside the continent, Nigeria launched an AfCFTA Air Hall final month, a strategic initiative aimed toward increasing market entry and bettering value effectivity for Nigerian exporters. The hall hyperlinks Nigeria to key African markets corresponding to Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa, with operations operating by way of Uganda Airways.
In response to the Minister of Business, Commerce and Funding, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, the brand new hall considerably reduces logistics prices for Nigerian exporters by between 50% and 75%, opening up better entry to the African market.
The hall is predicted to facilitate the export of products, together with textiles, cosmetics, and agricultural merchandise, thereby strengthening Nigeria’s participation in AfCFTA commerce flows and enhancing competitiveness throughout the continent.
What You Ought to Know
The African Continental Free Commerce Space (AfCFTA) is a landmark Treaty making a single marketplace for items and providers throughout Africa, selling intra-African commerce and {economic} integration.
- In April 2025, Nigeria gazetted and transmitted its ECOWAS Tariff Schedule for Commerce in Items to the AfCFTA Secretariat, enabling zero duties on 90% of products traded underneath the Treaty.
- This positions Nigerian exporters for improved market entry and better competitiveness throughout African markets.
