African cooperation through Africa50, AfDB, and AfCFTA aims to address infrastructure deficits, propel digital advancement across the continent.

The African Development Bank (AfDB), the AfCFTA Secretariat, and Africa50 have joined forces to establish cutting-edge data centers and digital trade platforms, aiming to help African businesses compete in the global digital economy.

This tripartite agreement, which emphasizes the development and financing of trade-enabling infrastructure, is crucial for boosting intra-African trade, currently at 15-18%, a figure significantly lower than Europe's 68% and Asia's 59%.

Solomon Quaynor, Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure & Industrialization at the African Development Bank, made this statement, while Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area, emphasized that infrastructure development is at the heart of trade and is a prerequisite to achieving the goal of increasing intra-African trade.

The partnership will operate on six strategic pillars, including alignment with the AfCFTA Agreement and regional policies, jointly identifying bankable projects, mobilizing capital through innovative finance mechanisms, establishing robust tracking systems, encouraging stakeholder dialogue, and integrating environmental, social, and governance standards throughout project lifecycles.

Technical working groups will be established to ensure effective coordination among the partners and alignment with national and regional development priorities.

The goal is to double intra-African trade to 25% by 2030. To achieve this, the partnership will prioritize developing multimodal transport corridors, cross-border infrastructure, logistics hubs, ports, and airports to connect African markets.

The combined annual GDP of the AfCFTA single market is $3.4 trillion, offering a significant potential for growth. The African Development Bank has invested over $55 billion in the last nine years to develop infrastructure, including road corridors, ports, railways, and power pools.

Between 2014 and 2024, the Bank invested over $8 billion across 109 cross-border, economic corridors, and infrastructure projects, leading in the development and operation of regional economic corridors in Africa.

The three-year memorandum of understanding will be operationalized through detailed joint work plans and specific implementation agreements. The partnership aims to realize the full potential of the AfCFTA single market and address infrastructure gaps that constrain trade flows across African borders. The ultimate goal is to help African businesses thrive in the global digital economy and contribute to the continent's overall economic growth.

African cooperation through Africa50, AfDB, and AfCFTA aims to address infrastructure deficits, propel digital advancement across the continent.