Africa’s free-trade ambitions are entering a more critical phase as governments move from negotiating agreements to building the infrastructure and systems needed to make regional trade work in practice.
A new World Bank report, Integrating Africa: From Threads to Hubs, argues that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has created an historic framework for continental integration, but fragmented customs systems, transport networks, payment platforms and energy infrastructure continue to limit its economic impact.
Presented in Addis Ababa at the end of August, the report highlights a key challenge: Africa trades a significant amount relative to the size of its economy, yet has not achieved the same structural transformation seen in regions such as East Asia. African exports remain heavily concentrated in raw commodities destined for markets outside the continent.
Intra-African trade accounts for only around 15% to 20% of total African trade, according to World Bank figures cited in the report. Although intra-African commerce is more diversified and has a stronger manufacturing component, its share has remained relatively stagnant despite the implementation of AfCFTA.
World Bank Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa Ndiamé Diop said the challenge is now implementation, with the goal of connecting 54 economies and 1.5 billion consumers through regional production hubs capable of attracting investment and creating jobs at scale.
The report identifies national borders themselves as a major source of trade costs. Around 60% of trade-related costs are estimated to originate within countries through slow customs procedures, repeated inspections, unrecognised professional qualifications and transport, energy and payment systems that remain organised primarily around national markets.
This means governments can make significant progress without waiting for further continental negotiations. Faster customs clearance, risk-based inspections, stronger national single windows and greater competition in transport could reduce costs and improve the movement of goods across borders.
The World Bank estimates that further liberalisation of transport, telecommunications, financial and professional services could increase intra-African services trade by approximately 60% to 64% by 2035.
The report proposes four priorities: integrating regional production, reducing trade frictions, deepening existing trade agreements and strengthening regional public goods such as transport corridors, regional power pools, interoperable digital networks and cross-border payment systems.
The opportunity extends beyond trade itself. Mineral-producing countries could link extraction with processing capacity elsewhere in Africa, agricultural regions could supply regional food-processing industries, and renewable energy resources could support cross-border industrial hubs. Industries including processed foods, machinery, petrochemicals, metallurgy and textiles could increasingly operate through regional value chains rather than within individual national economies.
The report’s broader message is clear: AfCFTA will only deliver its full economic potential if Africa’s ports, roads, customs systems, electricity networks, payment platforms and standards agencies begin functioning as parts of one interconnected economic system.
For Africa, the next stage of continental integration is therefore not simply about signing more agreements. It is about turning those agreements into factories, supply chains, investment and jobs across borders.