South Africa has reaffirmed its commitment to harnessing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to unlock new growth opportunities for local businesses and strengthen regional integration. Opening the IATF2025 South Africa Business Roadshow in Johannesburg, Mr. Humphrey Nwugo, Regional Director (Southern Africa) at Afreximbank, emphasised the urgency of mobilising concrete action. “This is the time to ensure that South Africa’s public and private sectors are not only present but strategically positioned to seize the immense opportunities that IATF2025 will present.”
Mr. Nwugo underscored South Africa’s pivotal role in the continent’s integration journey, citing its strong economic foundations, entrepreneurial energy, and institutional capacity – well positioned to integrate into African value chains.
“We are here to invite South Africa to lead. We want to see the country’s private sector on full display in Algiers,” he added. The Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2025), set to take place in Algiers from 4–10 September 2025, is poised to be a landmark market event and gateway to unprecedented trade and investment prospects across Africa.
E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, highlighted the critical importance of IATF2025, taking place amid global instability, climate change, and shifting trade dynamics.
“Despite these headwinds, Africa has the capacity to navigate the challenges, accelerate industrial development, and realise the vision of a fully integrated continent,” he said.
He stressed the urgency of building regional value chains in sectors like automotive and agribusiness, which offer vast potential for inclusive growth. Strengthening these interconnected ecosystems will support technology transfer, diversify intra-African trade, and create new opportunities for small and medium enterprises across the continent.
Speaking at the event, the Honourable Sihle Zikalala, Deputy Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, noted South Africa’s strong positioning to drive industrialisation, innovation, and regional value chain development.
“South Africa views the AfCFTA as a historic opportunity to deepen economic ties with our neighbours, expand market access for our goods and services, and promote inclusive, job-rich growth,” said Minister Zikalala.
“The IATF2025 must be viewed as more than just a marketplace, and rather as a strategic tool for implementation, where policy meets practice. South Africa has a critical role to play in driving this vision, underpinned by entrepreneurial spirit, institutional strength, and a dynamic SMME ecosystem. Through partnerships and public-private collaboration, we can develop world-class infrastructure across Africa while reducing our reliance on foreign exchange by trading in our own currencies,” he added.
H.E Ms. Baleka Mbete, founder NaLHISA and former Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa was also in attendance.
The Roadshow convened over 350 business leaders, policymakers, creatives, and investors, as well as senior representatives from African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the African Union Commission (AUC), and the AfCFTA Secretariat. Themed “Harnessing Regional and Continental Value Chains: Accelerating Africa’s Industrialisation and Global Competitiveness under the AfCFTA,” the event spotlighted strategies to build resilient supply chains and boost intra-African trade.
Accelerating intra-African trade is pivotal to unlocking industrial opportunities tailored to the continent’s strengths. It reduces dependence on external markets, builds economic resilience, and enables value addition within Africa. When African nations trade more with one another, they retain more wealth, create higher-quality jobs, and foster inclusive growth through regional value chains.
With the AfCFTA creating a single market of 1.4 billion people, Africa gains the scale and efficiency needed to compete globally. A stronger internal market also improves the continent’s bargaining power in international negotiations, strengthens its integration into global supply chains, and sets the stage for long-term economic transformation.
South Africa’s strong industrial base, advanced financial sector, and world-class infrastructure position it as a regional anchor for AfCFTA implementation. According to South African Revenue Service (SARS) and UN COMTRADE, South Africa recorded merchandise exports of $110.5 billion and imports of $113.2 billion in 2023, resulting in a modest trade deficit of $2.7 billion. Trade made up 65.7% of GDP (World Bank, 2023), demonstrating South Africa’s deep integration into global markets.
Notably, intra-African trade remained a national strength. As reported in Afreximbank’s 2024 African Trade Report, South Africa exported $29.6 billion and imported $9.6 billion from African partners, with intra-African exports comprising 26.8% of total exports. Key sectors such as automotive, agro-processing, and financial services are already benefiting and poised to grow further through regional integration and value chain expansion.
Dr. Gainmore Zanamwe, Director, Trade Facilitation and Investment Promotion, Afreximbank, highlighted ongoing efforts to enable seamless intro-Africa trade: “Afreximbank is deeply committed to unlocking Africa’s industrial and trade potential by building enabling ecosystems from financing to infrastructure and standards. Through platforms like the Africa Trade Gateway and Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), we are removing long-standing barriers to intra-African trade, allowing businesses to transact in local currencies and access real-time market intelligence.”
Dr. Zanamwe also emphasised the growing role of South Africa and Algeria in regional value chains, especially in manufacturing and automotive sectors. He encouraged South African companies to participate actively in IATF2025, pointing to over $13 billion in EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contracts facilitated by Afreximbank. He also highlighted funding vehicles such as the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the Africa Direct Investment Initiative, and the $2 billion Export Agriculture for Food Security programme.
“IATF2025 is not just an exhibition – it’s a business gateway. With 2,000+ exhibitors, 35,000 visitors, and 140+ participating countries, we project over $44 billion in trade and investment deals. This is South Africa’s opportunity to lead,” he said.
In closing, H.E. Ambassador Ali Achoui, Algeria’s Ambassador to South Africa, extended a warm invitation to South African businesses:
“Welcome to Algeria – a country with the third-largest GDP in Africa, no external debt, and ranked first in Africa and the Arab world in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We are proud to host IATF2025 and are committed to facilitating streamlined visa processes by reducing documentation requirements to ease access for all African participants.”
Since 2018, IATF has secured more than $100 billion in trade deals, welcomed over 70,000 visitors, more than 4500 exhibitors and has become Africa’s most influential trade and investment platform.
The event will feature:
- A trade exhibition
- The Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) showcase of fashion, music, film, sports, gastronomy, arts and craft, and literature
- A four-day Trade and Investment Forum
- The Africa Automotive Show
- Special Country Days and Global Africa Day celebrations
- B2B and B2G matchmaking
- The AU Youth Start-Up programme
- The Africa Research & Innovation Hub
- AfSNET to promote sub-national trade and cultural exchange
- IATF virtual.
To register for IATF2025 or learn more, please visit: www.IntrAfricanTradeFair.com
Africa Fact: The East Coast, from Somalia to Mozambique, has ruins of well over 50 towns and cities. They flourished from the ninth to the sixteenth centuries AD.
Africa Fact: Chinese records of the fifteenth century AD note that Mogadishu had houses of “four or five storeys high”.
Steel
Hans Karlsen grew a start-up from zero to $1.6 million revenues in first two years of operation. Over and above being a successful startup founder, Karlsen is a natural leader, enabler, engineer and negotiator with over 25 years of industry experience in a variety of high technology sectors. Karlsen has served as a CEO, managing director, board member, senior advisor and finance director (CFO). He describes himself as a “serial entrepreneur” with the drive, persistence, passion and ability to identify and pursue high-value opportunities.