The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and the International Trade Centre (ITC) signed a renewed memorandum of understanding in Lomé, Togo on Sunday, directing their joint efforts toward generating an additional $22 billion in annual intra-African trade by 2029.
The signing took place on the sidelines of Biashara Afrika 2026, the continent’s flagship trade forum running from May 18 to 20 at the Palais des Congrès de Lomé. AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene and ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton formalised the agreement one week ahead of Africa Day.
The renewed partnership marks a deliberate shift in the AfCFTA’s operating posture. With continental negotiations now concluded, both institutions are redirecting their collaboration toward enabling practical, private sector-led trade rather than continuing to build the policy architecture that has occupied the past several years.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), particularly those owned by women, youth and smallholder farmers, sit at the centre of the partnership’s implementation agenda. Both organisations committed to building a business-friendly continental ecosystem that gives these enterprises the tools, market intelligence and institutional support needed to compete across Africa’s single market.
Key cooperation areas under the renewed agreement include market access, trade facilitation, capacity building, inclusive entrepreneurship and improved access to trade data for commercial decision-making. The co-creation model embedded in the partnership means both institutions will jointly design programmes, align resources and share accountability for results.
ITC research projects that eliminating tariffs and developing value chains under the AfCFTA framework could drive intra-African trade higher by $22 billion annually by 2029. The AfCFTA itself covers 55 African Union member states and a combined market of more than 1.3 billion people, and has the potential to increase intra-African trade by 52.3 percent through tariff liberalisation and trade facilitation measures.
The agreement also aligns with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 development blueprint and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The signing comes at a moment of significant pressure on the global trading system, with rising protectionism and geopolitical fragmentation pushing African policymakers to accelerate regional integration as a hedge against external uncertainty.
