The digital bridge for Africa’s growing trade finance gap

It’s an open secret that Africa accounts for most of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with the East Africa region being the continent’s front runner. However, the continent’s, contribution to global trade remains dismal, posting less than 3 percent, according to a 2024 assessment report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Unknown to most people is that trade finance, which is a bank lending function focused on facilitating both domestic and international trade, is a key enabler of domestic and international trade. This then raises the discourse about deliberate strategies, especially by African banks to bridge the perennial trade finance gap stymying both intra and inter African trade especially by SMEs.