The Group Managing Director of Access Bank Plc, Mr. Roosevelt Ogbonna, has urged African policymakers, financiers and businesses to strengthen collaboration.

He said this is essential to speed up intra-African trade and unlock the continent’s full economic potential.

Ogbonna made the call yesterday while welcoming participants to the Africa Trade Conference 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa.

He emphasised that Africa must urgently remove structural barriers that still hinder trade within the continent despite its huge market opportunities.

According to him, Africa continues to account for only a small portion of global trade. Many trade corridors across the continent remain fragmented and largely aspirational instead of fully operational.

He stated: “Last year we asked ourselves a simple question, how can Africa trade with itself and with the rest of the world in a way that creates shared prosperity beyond just numbers. The facts were sobering. Africa still controls a small share of global trade and many small businesses that aspire to trade across borders remain constrained.”

Ogbonna explained that discussions at the maiden conference in 2025 identified three priority areas needed to transform trade across the continent.

He noted that ATC 2026 was deliberately designed to build on last year’s conversations and drive concrete actions that would enhance trade integration across Africa.

According to him, some progress has been achieved in certain areas, yet several structural challenges continue to prevent seamless trade across African markets.

Ogbonna also highlighted the increasing role of technology platforms in easing friction related to payments, logistics and cross-border market access.

However, he stressed that such advancements have remained uneven. Most gains are limited to markets where policy reforms have progressed faster than in others.

“Many of these improvements are concentrated in specific markets and corridors, and that is not good enough if we are to truly unlock the potential of Africa’s trade,” he said.

He further identified high cost of finance, fragmented payment systems, infrastructure gaps and limited trade information as major constraints affecting businesses that want to operate across African borders.