As Kenya assumes the chairmanship of COMESA, African nations are being urged to boost intra-continental trade from the current 14 percent to 50 percent — a more than 250 percent increase that would align the continent’s internal commerce with global benchmarks.
According to birrmetrics.com, speaking at the closing ceremony of the 24th Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Summit of Heads of State and Government in Nairobi, Kenyan President William Ruto said unlocking trade across the continent could triple demand for African goods and services, benefiting 1.4 billion people.
“To achieve this, we must remove visa restrictions that block the free movement of people, ideas, and talent,” Ruto said. “We must also dismantle tariff and non-tariff barriers that have turned our borders into obstacles instead of bridges.”
The summit, held under the theme “Leveraging Digitization to Deepen Regional Value Chains for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth,” marked Kenya’s assumption of the rotating COMESA chairmanship from Burundi. Ruto said the bloc’s new leadership would prioritise structural reforms, trade facilitation, and financial independence across member states.
He called for African countries to stop exporting raw materials and instead invest in value addition to create jobs and retain wealth within the continent. He also announced Kenya’s plan to increase its shareholding in the Trade and Development Bank by 100 million US dollars and reaffirmed a 50 million US dollar commitment to Afreximbank.
A key outcome of the summit was the launch of a Digital Retail Payments Platform, designed to enable cross-border transactions in local currencies and reduce reliance on the US dollar. COMESA officials said the system is expected to cut transaction costs to below three percent and enhance trade among member states.
The push to increase intra-African trade aligns with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) goals to promote regional industrialisation and strengthen value chains. Analysts note, however, that achieving a more than 250 percent increase will require tackling persistent challenges such as poor infrastructure, regulatory disparities, and limited policy coordination among member states.
