Policymakers, Banks Must Unite To Shatter Africa’s Trade Barriers, Says Access Bank MD

The managing director and CEO of Access Bank Plc, Roosevelt Ogbonna, has issued a strong call for policymakers, financiers, and businesses to unite and dismantle the structural barriers stifling intra-African trade.

Speaking at the Access Bank Africa Trade Conference in South Africa on Wednesday, Ogbonna warned that Africa’s vast market potential remains locked behind fragmented corridors, high financing costs, and infrastructure deficits.

“The reality is that Africa still controls a small share of global trade. The corridors are still fragmented and more aspirational than functional, and too many small businesses that aspire to trade across Africa remain constrained,” he stated.

Ogbonna made the call at the Access Bank Africa Trade Conference held in South Africa, where he said Africa must address structural barriers that continue to limit the growth of intra-continental commerce despite its vast market opportunities.

According to him, the conference was convened to continue conversations started at the inaugural edition in 2025 on how Africa can expand trade within the continent while strengthening its participation in global markets.

He noted that Africa’s share of global trade remains relatively small, stressing that fragmented trade corridors and structural bottlenecks continue to hinder the growth of commerce across the continent.

“The reality is that Africa still controls a small share of global trade. The corridors are still fragmented and more aspirational than functional, and too many small businesses that aspire to trade across Africa remain constrained,” he said.

Ogbonna explained that stakeholders at last year’s conference agreed on three key priorities to transform Africa’s trade landscape. These include breaking down silos between policymakers, financial institutions and businesses, building a trade ecosystem driven by reliable data and analytics, and developing systems that support both large corporations and smaller businesses seeking to expand across borders.

He said the 2026 edition of the conference is not a fresh start but a continuation of efforts to drive meaningful progress in intra-African trade. According to him, some progress has already been recorded across key sectors of the economy.

“We have seen value chains emerging across agriculture, manufacturing and services, and we are seeing African brands crossing borders and building a global presence,” he said.

Ogbonna also pointed to the growing role of technology platforms in reducing friction across payments, logistics, and market access. He, however, acknowledged that the gains remain uneven across the continent, with progress concentrated in a few markets and specific trade corridors.

He said several structural challenges still limit the pace of integration across African economies. These challenges, he noted, include limited access to finance, the high cost of business funding, fragmented payment systems, infrastructure deficits, and inadequate access to reliable market information.

“We understand that access to finance remains a challenge, and the cost of finance is still very expensive for many businesses. Payments remain fragmented, and infrastructure gaps continue to create delays and costs in shipments across the continent,” he said.

Ogbonna urged stakeholders across the continent to move beyond dialogue and take concrete steps to strengthen trade relationships among African countries, emphasising that Africa’s economic transformation would depend largely on businesses and institutions’ willingness to collaborate more effectively.

“This conference must not end as another talking shop. It must become the birthplace of a movement that contributes to transforming intra-African trade,” he said.

Ogbonna further encouraged businesses across the continent to deepen partnerships and build stronger trust in order to unlock new opportunities for economic growth. “Let us do more business with each other. Let us trust each other more. Let us build an Africa that is not just open for business but uniquely open for African business,” he added.

He reaffirmed Access Bank’s commitment to supporting initiatives aimed at strengthening trade and economic integration across the continent. The Access Bank Africa Trade Conference brings together policymakers, financial institutions, businesses and development partners to discuss strategies for expanding trade, improving infrastructure and addressing key constraints affecting commerce across Africa.