(Business in Cameroon) – Ecobank reaffirmed its commitment to financing businesses to stimulate trade across Africa during the first edition of the Ecobank Trade Expo, held on October 1 in Douala. The event gathered company leaders and investors around the goal of unlocking Africa’s trade potential through tailored financial solutions.
“Ecobank Trade Expo is a powerful demonstration of our determination to support African businesses in their growth,” said Gwendoline Abunaw, managing director of Ecobank Cameroon and the Cemac region. She stressed the bank’s goal of “breaking the barriers that slow down African trade.”
The continent’s trade has shown signs of recovery. According to Afreximbank’s 2024 African Trade Report, intra-African trade reached $220 billion last year, up 12.5% from 2023. Overall, Africa’s merchandise trade grew 13.9% to $1.5 trillion, reversing a 5.4% contraction the previous year.
Yet Africa still accounts for only 3.3% of global exports, while a nearly $100 billion trade finance gap remains a major obstacle. Challenges include cumbersome administration, poor infrastructure, restrictive banking regulations, dependence on the dollar and euro, and lack of integrated intra-African payment systems.
For Amédée Assomo, CEO of Corlay Cameroon, regulatory rigidity is a key bottleneck. “We have a central bank (BEAC) and a regulator (COBAC) that are outdated, not aligned with global rules. They continue to demand heavy documentation that slows trade financing and fuel imports in Cameroon,” he said.
Medhi Tanani, regional director for Central Africa at Proparco, pointed to weak sovereign and bank ratings, mostly capped at B level, which limit access to international credit lines. He also noted the limited credit history of African SMEs compared with international standards, and the difficulty African banks face in accessing hard currencies while most transactions remain denominated in dollars, euros, or yuan.
To address these issues, Ecobank promotes a range of tools including letters of credit, guarantees, supply chain and export financing, and its Single Market Trade Up platform, which already connects more than 12,000 African buyers and sellers, according to Humphrey Ngando, the bank’s head of trade.
Participants also called for wider adoption of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to reduce reliance on foreign currencies and ease cross-border trade. The Expo further served as a networking hub for SMEs, encouraging exchange of best practices.
Still, the central challenge remains the ability of African banks to overcome regulatory rigidity and structural barriers. Initiatives like PAPSS and Ecobank’s trade finance innovations offer promising avenues, but will not by themselves close the financing gap or secure global competitiveness.
The real test, speakers concluded, lies in institutional will. More than new financial instruments, a collective effort by banks, governments, and regulators to harmonize rules and build trust will determine whether Africa achieves sustainable growth in intra-African trade.
