By 
Africa must strengthen the payment systems, border infrastructure and other systems needed to help businesses fully benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, H.E. Wamkele Mene, has said.
Mene made the call during a fireside conversation with Project Management Institute (PMI) Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, George Asamani, at PMI’s Global Summit Series in Cape Town, South Africa.
Speaking under the summit theme, “Africa Delivers M.O.R.E. Together,” Mene outlined the practical steps required to translate continental trade commitments into easier access to markets for businesses.
These include aligning national policies, modernising customs systems and enabling cross-border payments in local currencies.
He also urged professionals working across infrastructure, construction, agriculture, services and customs to consider how their expertise can contribute to connecting African economies.
“We all have a contribution to creating a single integrated market,” Mene said.
Cross-border payments remain critical to AfCFTA
Mene used the example of a transaction between businesses in Ghana and Kenya to illustrate the costs created by fragmented financial systems.
Although both companies are operating within Africa, they may still need to convert their local currencies into a third currency, typically the US dollar, to complete a transaction.
Mene estimated that the currency conversion costs associated with this fragmentation amount to approximately $5 billion annually across the continent.
He pointed to the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), developed by Afreximbank in collaboration with the AfCFTA Secretariat, as one practical response to the challenge.
PAPSS enables participating businesses to make cross-border payments in local currencies, reducing reliance on third currencies and potentially lowering transaction friction.
The example highlights a broader challenge facing continental integration: an agreement to remove trade barriers is only as effective as the systems that allow businesses to use it.
For companies seeking to trade across borders, payment infrastructure, customs processes and other operational systems must function alongside the policy framework.
Reducing friction within these systems can therefore make access to the continental market more commercially practical.
Customs and policy alignment needed
Making intra-African trade easier will also require customs authorities to implement agreed rules consistently and governments to align domestic policies with continental commitments.
Asamani linked these requirements to the skills needed to manage programmes involving multiple institutions, jurisdictions and stakeholders.
“A continental agreement becomes meaningful when a business can use it. That depends on people who can coordinate institutions, manage risk, deliver reliable systems and keep the intended benefit in view. Project management provides the discipline to carry a policy commitment through to a service that businesses can use,” he said.
The discussion also addressed concerns about the potential impact of trade liberalisation on domestic industries.
Mene said the AfCFTA framework includes safeguards for vulnerable sectors, while adjustment support can help industries facing disruption as markets become more open.
“We have rules that protect infant industries in a country,” he added.
He stressed the importance of assessing potential losses and supporting affected businesses, while combining domestic reforms with continental cooperation to enable companies to compete in larger markets.
Infrastructure and digital investment central to integration
Mene also highlighted infrastructure as a critical component of the AfCFTA implementation agenda, calling for greater attention to project preparation and trade infrastructure alongside digital investment.
He pointed to the Digital Trade Protocol as an important framework for creating conditions for investment in emerging technologies and data centres.
Effective project preparation, he explained, must consider how physical infrastructure will connect with customs procedures, digital services and the institutions responsible for operating them.
The effectiveness of individual investments can depend on whether these systems work together across institutional and national boundaries.
For project professionals, this means the challenge extends beyond delivering individual infrastructure assets. Payment platforms, transport networks, customs systems and digital infrastructure must be capable of operating across multiple institutions and countries.
Project professionals to support continental integration
Asamani said Africa needs more project professionals equipped to work across institutional and national boundaries as the continent advances its integration agenda.
“Africa needs more project professionals equipped to deliver across these boundaries. Investing in their capabilities strengthens our ability to build infrastructure, implement digital systems and make public institutions more effective. It also gives African talent a greater role in delivering the projects that will shape the continent’s future,” he said.
The conversation connected Africa’s talent-development priorities with the practical requirements of implementing continental integration.
Professionals across sectors will play a role in translating shared policy objectives into coordinated projects and functioning services across participating African countries.
For Mene, the effectiveness of the AfCFTA will ultimately be reflected in whether businesses can access new African markets at lower cost and with fewer administrative barriers.
The ability to deliver reliable payment systems, efficient borders, connected infrastructure and aligned policies will therefore remain central to translating continental trade commitments into tangible commercial opportunities.
Comments