Kenya is working towards fast-tracking implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to unlock opportunities for businesses in the country across the continent.
Speaking during the Kenya IATF2025 Business Roadshow event, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry, Hon. Lee Kinyanjui said the government is positioning and consolidating Kenya as a Trade, industrial and innovation hub to strategically tap into trade and investment opportunities presented by AfCFTA.
“The solutions to Africa’s problems lie with Africans. It is essential for countries within the continent to strengthen intra-African trade.
The IATF 2025 offers a vital platform to advance the AfCFTA agenda. With a well-educated population, abundant resources, and banks ready to finance investment, Africa has what it takes to elevate itself to the next level.,” the Cabinet Secretary said.
The Kenya IATF2025 Business Roadshow attracted over 200 members of Kenya’s business community, including buyers, creatives, automotive sector players, policymakers and investors together with executives and officials of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and African Union Commission (AUC). It focused on exploring ways of promoting intra-African trade. The theme was Harnessing Regional and Continental Value Chains: Accelerating Africa’s Industrialisation and Global Competitiveness under the AfCFTA.
Harnessing regional and continental value chains under the AfCFTA is crucial for Africa’s industrial growth and global competitiveness. By creating a large, integrated market, the AfCFTA encourages countries to tap into the continental market by scaling up productive capacity and add value to products, create an enabling environment, attracting investment and creating jobs. This boosts economic diversification, expand productive base, and supports Africa’s vision for sustainable and inclusive development.
The roadshow is one of the five in the series of planned for Nairobi, Accra, Johannesburg, Lagos and Algiers ahead of the fourth edition of the biennial Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2025) that will be held in Algiers, Algeria from 4 – 10 September 2025 under the theme Gateway to New Opportunities. IATF is Africa’s premier trade and investment event that serves as a crucial platform for fostering economic growth, collaboration, and innovation across the continent. Over the years, the IATF has established a track record as the premier African trade and investment platform and has achieved significant milestones since it was established in 2018 as an instrument to implement the AfCFTA Agreement. Hosted by the Government of Algeria and promoted by Afreximbank, in collaboration with the African Union Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat, the IATF2025 event will provide businesses from Africa and beyond with a platform to showcase their goods and services and exchange trade and investment information.
Addressing the forum, Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President, Global Trade Bank, Mr. Haytham Elmaayergi said: “One of the key objectives of the IATF is to address access to trade and market information for intra-African trade to take place. For instance, as a result of a lack of information on African production and supply, countries like Tunisia, Morocco and South Africa import in excess of around US$400 million worth of leather products, mainly from Europe and South America, while countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, and Sudan—which have the supply capacity to meet a substantial part of this demand—continue to export their leather products to markets in Europe and Asia.”
“Kenya has rapidly emerged as a major force in digitalisation and innovation, both within the region and across Africa. The IATF presents a great opportunity for Kenyan Fintech companies, mobile money innovators and other technology companies to come together and showcase their ingenuity to diverse sectors on the continent. It could potentially help them scale beyond the Kenyan borders as well as attract investment to their respective businesses.” added Mr. Elmaayergi.
Mr Elmaayergi made a clarion call for businesses, public and private sector in Kenya to participate and showcase their goods and services in IATF2025, where more than 2,000 exhibitors, including businesses from the African continent and globally, will exchange trade, market and investment information and showcase their goods and services to over 35,000 visitors and buyers from more than 140 countries. This is projected to translate into over US$44 billion in trade and investment deals.
IATF is a platform for boosting trade and investment in Africa. In the last three editions of IATF, over $100 billion in trade and investment deals have been closed cumulatively with over 70,000 visitors and more than 4,500 exhibitors participating.
Some of the activities lined up for the week-long IATF2025 include a trade exhibition by countries and businesses; the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme with a dedicated exhibition and summit on fashion, music, film, arts and craft, sports, literature, gastronomy and culinary arts; a four-day Trade and Investment Forum featuring leading African and international speakers; and the Africa Automotive Show for auto manufacturers, assemblers, original equipment manufacturers and component suppliers.
Special Days will also be held, dedicated for countries as well as public and private entities to showcase trade and investment opportunities, and tourism and cultural attractions, as well as Global Africa Day to highlight commercial and cultural ties between Africa and its diaspora, featuring a Diaspora Summit, market and exhibition, cultural and gastronomic showcase.
Also planned is a business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) platform for matchmaking and business exchanges; the AU Youth Start-Up programme showcasing innovative ideas and prototypes; the Africa Research and Innovation Hub @ IATF targeting university students, academia and national researchers to exhibit their innovations and research projects; and the African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network (AfSNET) to promote trade, investment, educational and cultural exchanges at the local level. The IATF Virtual platform is already live, connecting exhibitors and visitors throughout the year.
Africa Fact: In 1246 AD Dunama II of Kanem-Borno exchanged embassies with Al-Mustansir, the king of Tunis. He sent the North African court a costly present, which apparently included a giraffe. An old chronicle noted that the rare animal “created a sensation in Tunis”.
Lumberyard
Robert Hersov: Founder and Chairman – Invest Africa: Robert Hersov founded Invest Africa three years ago, after spotting an opportunity to create a platform for the growing number of individuals becoming involved in pan-African investments.Invest Africa is a network of decision makers at top global organisations, fund managers, private investors, family offices, entrepreneurs, and policy makers – all with a common interest in Africa. Hersov has launched operations in London, New York, Johannesburg, Geneva, Zurich and Dubai and has amassed hundreds of high level members.