Making AfCFTA Work: Advancing Africa’s Development through integrated and efficient financial systems

May 27, 2025 | Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

The African Development Bank’s Private Sector, Infrastructure, and Industrialization Vice Presidency—in collaboration with the Making Finance Work for Africa partnership—convened a side event, "Making AfCFTA Work: The Role of the African Financial Sector: Unlocking Africa’s Development through Financial Integration and Collaboration," during the Bank’s Annual Meetings. Aligned with the overall meeting theme, “Making Africa’s Capital Work Better for Africa’s Development,” this side event aimed to convene key stakeholders to explore actionable strategies to operationalize the AfCFTA through a strengthened and better-integrated financial sector. The event took place at the Sofitel Hotel in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, from 14h45 to 16h00. 

The discussions particularly focused on how the African financial sector can:

  • Deepen its own regional integration to support a more seamless and efficient continental market.
  • Collaborate strategically with infrastructure and industrial development sectors to bridge critical investment gaps essential for the success of the AfCFTA.

Objective

  • To highlight and showcase existing initiatives on African financial market integration: PAPSS, Central banks reform etc.
  • To explore policy, regulatory, and technological innovations to enhance financial systems that can promote intra-Africa trade
  • To foster partnerships among stakeholders to advance financial integration initiatives.

The event was also live streamed on the AfDB’s YouTube channels in both English and French; click a link below to watch:

• EN: https://www.youtube.com/live/HZ15jRWxyKQ 
• FR: https://www.youtube.com/live/ROSan2GW0dE

Event Report is available HERE

Background

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents a transformative opportunity to enhance economic integration across the continent by fostering African intra-trade, investment, and industrialization. Launched in January 2021, the AfCFTA aims to create a single market for goods and services, facilitating trade across the 54 member states of the African Union. This ambitious initiative promises to boost regional economic growth, create jobs, and alleviate poverty by removing trade barriers and improving market access.

However, realizing these benefits requires more than trade agreements and political will. It demands robust connectivity infrastructure and efficient financial systems to facilitate the seamless flow of goods, services, and capital across borders.

The financial sector must become a key enabler of the AfCFTA to ensure that Africa’s capital works more effectively for its development. Achieving this requires

  • Robust and inclusive financial ecosystems that can unlock investments in strategic infrastructure, support the development of regional value chains, and enable the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
  • Well-integrated financial systems that facilitate cross-border capital flows, lower transaction costs, and enhance access to finance, while contributing to greater financial stability across the continent.

While there has been notable progress in financial inclusion and the extension of financial services to productive sectors, African financial markets African financial markets remain fragmented, with varying regulatory frameworks, limited capital mobility, and underdeveloped financial infrastructures. This fragmentation hinders cross-border transactions, increases costs, and poses significant risks for businesses seeking to operate beyond their national borders.

Addressing these challenges requires collaborative efforts among governments, regulators, financial institutions, and development partners.

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