AfCFTA, Bergmans Sign $3.1bn Concession Deal to Digitise Customs Across Africa

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has executed a 20-year concession agreement with Bergmans Security Consultant and Supplies Limited to digitise customs operations across Africa, in a deal expected to boost intra-African trade and cut revenue leakages on the continent.

The agreement, executed between AfCFTA Holdings Limited, the AfCFTA Secretariat, and AfriTrade CMP Limited — a subsidiary of Bergmans Security Consultant and Supplies Limited — covers the AfCFTA Customs Modernisation Project, which will see the deployment of digital technology to customs administrations across African countries.

The $3.1 billion concession agreement is aimed at accelerating intra-African trade, reducing border bottlenecks and improving revenue collection and comes weeks after both parties entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on transforming customs operations across Africa.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, held in Abuja on Wednesday night, the chairman of Bergmans Security Consultant and Supplies Limited, Alhaji Saleh Ahmadu, said the agreement would drive customs operations across Africa toward advanced technological development. He described the deal as the fruition of years of work, and said it would help simplify trade across the continent.

He said Bergmans, the partnership reflected a shared commitment to secure, efficient and scalable trade infrastructure. He commended the AfCFTA Secretariat for aligning with the vision of advancing Africa’s economic integration agenda.

Ahmadu said Bergmans’ role would be to provide financing and technical expertise, working with stakeholders around the world, and pledged the company’s commitment to working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and customs administrations across the continent to enhance trade facilitation, open up investment opportunities and build capacity for sustainable growth. He said the company was committed to replicating the success it had recorded in Nigeria across the rest of the continent.

In his remarks, the secretary-general of the AfCFTA Secretariat, His Excellency Wamkele Mene, described the agreement as a transformative tool for customs modernisation on the continent. He said he was introduced to Ahmadu by the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, and was impressed by the modernisation and digitisation achievements recorded in Nigeria’s customs system.

Mene said the AfCFTA Secretariat had a shared ambition with Bergmans to position African customs systems to be digital, transparent, accountable and supportive of the continent’s economic growth. He said the Secretariat specifically chose Bergmans because it was an African company capable of deploying digital technology for the continent’s advancement, noting that several non-African companies had approached the Secretariat to offer similar services but were turned down in favour of an African firm.

“We want to make sure that we promote African excellence and African innovation. That’s why the AfCFTA Secretariat exists,” he said, adding that he was proud the project was being driven by Africans, for Africa, and that it began in Nigeria.

Mene said he travelled over five hours to attend the ceremony because of the significance of the occasion, describing it as the start of what he believes will become a continental success story. He commended the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Dr Juma, and Madam Demetra Gyang for their roles in facilitating the agreement.

Responding to questions from journalists, Ahmadu said the technology to be deployed under the agreement had already proven successful in Nigeria, where it had increased revenue, removed bottlenecks in trade transactions and reduced clearance times. He said the same model was now being extended to the rest of the continent.

Mene said both parties were ready to begin implementation immediately, with Bergmans committing to deploy working capital to invest in and roll out the technology. He said 50 African Union member states had ratified the AfCFTA agreement, committing to eliminating barriers to intra-African trade, investment and movement of goods.

He said intra-African trade stood at $220 billion in 2024, representing a 12.5 per cent increase from the previous year, but noted that customs systems across the continent had not kept pace with the ambitions of the AfCFTA. He said many African countries still relied on manual customs systems, resulting in revenue leakages, poor data capture for fiscal policy, and an inability to track goods digitally across borders.

“If we are not able to ensure that we have a customs system that is digital, that is able to express our ambition, I fear we will not succeed in doubling intra-Africa trade by the year 2035,” Mene said.

He said the project would give African countries the ability to track the movement of goods in real time across borders, using Nigeria as an example of a country where the technology had already shown measurable results.