Nigeria, AfCFTA push Africa’s $180bn digital trade

Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, and the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, have urged African countries to accelerate trade in digitally delivered services, describing the continent’s $180bn digital economy as a major untapped opportunity for growth, investment and economic integration.

They made the call on Wednesday at the second edition of the AfCFTA Digital Trade Forum held in Lagos, where policymakers and business leaders discussed practical steps to implement the AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade.

Speaking at the forum, Oduwole said Africa had yet to harness the full potential of digital services despite the opportunities created by the AfCFTA’s market of more than 1.4 billion people with a combined Gross Domestic Product exceeding $3tn.

She noted that only five per cent of Africa’s digitally delivered services were traded within the continent. “Today, only five per cent of Africa’s digitally delivered services are traded within the continent. That represents an extraordinary, untapped opportunity for intra-African trade, investment and digital transformation,” Oduwole said.

The minister said digital trade would enable African businesses to reach new markets, expand across borders and compete globally, stressing that Nigeria became a co-champion of the AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade because of its potential to accelerate the continent’s economic transformation.

“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 AfCFTA has created a market of more than 1.4 billion people with a combined GDP of over US$3tn. Digital trade presents a huge opportunity to leverage this agreement rapidly. It enables businesses to reach new customers, expand beyond national borders, and compete in traditional and new sectors. Africa already has the talent. Our task now is to create the conditions for that talent to serve a continental market,” she said.

Oduwole added that Nigeria was implementing reforms to make it easier for digital businesses to expand across Africa. She noted that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has mapped Nigeria’s digital services ecosystem, produced Africa’s first directory of digital services firms and identified Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa as priority markets for Nigerian digital businesses.

She also said Nigeria was leading the Digital Trade Regulators’ Working Group to harmonise market entry requirements, licensing processes and regulatory cooperation across participating countries.

The minister said one of the group’s first outputs would be guidelines on market entry and investment for African digital service firms to reduce uncertainty and lower the cost of doing business across borders.

She said Nigeria’s digital economy already had a strong foundation, with the Information and Communications Technology sector contributing about 18 per cent to GDP and the country hosting about 28 per cent of Africa’s fintech companies.

Oduwole added that recent reforms, including the Tax Reform Acts, the Investment and Securities Act 2025 and strengthened intellectual property protection, would help digital businesses build, protect innovation and scale across Africa.

On his part, Mene said Africa’s digital economy was already valued at $180bn, representing 5.2 per cent of the continent’s GDP, and was projected to grow to $712bn, accounting for 8.5 per cent of GDP by 2050.

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“Digital trade is not a distant dream in Africa. It is happening right now, and it is rewriting what is possible for our people and presenting significant opportunities and benefits for our people. “Africa’s digital economy is worth $180bn (5.2 per cent) of the continent’s GDP and projected to reach $712bn (8.5 per cent) by 2050,” he said.

Mene said digital trade was helping African entrepreneurs reach customers across borders, while mobile money and fintech innovations were transforming payments and financial inclusion.

“Being able to buy and sell across Africa using mobile money will lead to an explosive boost in intra-African trade, creating jobs and wealth for millions of people. Having an integrated payments system, as provided for in the AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade, is what will give investors the confidence to put money into Africa’s transport and logistics network. That is why our leaders must unlock our mobile money wallets, continentally, to free us to move our goods and services borderlessly,” he said.

He, however, identified poor internet access, fragmented regulations, high data costs, cybersecurity concerns, and digital skills gaps as major barriers to the growth of digital trade.

“Harmonising our digital trade rules, investing in connectivity or digital infrastructure, protecting data while allowing it to flow across borders, building the skills of our women, young people and rural communities. These are the foundations upon which a truly continental digital economy will rise,” Mene said.

The AfCFTA secretary-general added that Africa’s demographic advantage, growing smartphone adoption, abundant renewable energy resources and strong investment returns positioned the continent to become a global digital economy leader.

He disclosed that the AfCFTA Secretariat had launched several initiatives, including the Africa Digital Access and Public Infrastructure for Trade, which is being piloted in Nigeria, Kenya and Morocco, to support secure digital transactions and integrated digital infrastructure.

Mene also said the secretariat had partnered with Google to train 7,500 African small and medium-sized enterprises across 19 countries under the AfCFTA Digital Inclusion and Entrepreneurship Programme to strengthen digital trade and artificial intelligence capabilities.

Speaking with journalists after the opening session, Oduwole said the Lagos forum was focused on translating the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol into practical outcomes for businesses.

She said, “What we’re doing here with this forum is to practicalise it and to give it life, and to make sure that the digital value chain, all the infrastructure, all the policies and regulations that we need to do across countries, is harmonised and solidified to deliver the promise of the agreement.”

She added that the agreement was designed to benefit micro, small and medium enterprises, women and young entrepreneurs through simplified trade processes and targeted interventions by agencies under the ministry.

Also, Mene said the forum had demonstrated that Africa’s digital economy offered inclusive opportunities for SMEs and young people. He said, “The opportunities that are presented by the digital economy, we should harness them and ensure that young people are included in Africa’s economy. Looking at the demographics here this morning, I believe that objective has been achieved.”