Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, has underscored the urgent need to strengthen trade finance to support small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs), particularly those owned by women and youth.
Speaking at the Africa Trade Conference 2025, Mene emphasized that the high cost of trade finance remains a significant challenge, hampering business growth and cross-border trade. He called on financial institutions and commercial banks to work collaboratively with development finance partners to address these barriers.
“We need to redouble our efforts to capacitate trade finance. Our finance development institutions must take the lead in ensuring accessible financing for our trading partners, especially SMMEs,” Mene stated. He further stressed the importance of risk mitigation strategies to enhance trade financing for small and medium enterprises.
According to a 2022 report by the World Economic Forum, Women make up 58% of Africa’s self-employed population and contribute around 13% of the continent’s GDP.
His remarks however align with AfCFTA’s broader goal of fostering intra-African trade and economic integration by reducing financial obstacles that disproportionately affect smaller businesses. The call for increased trade finance support is expected to encourage policies that facilitate greater financial inclusion and economic empowerment across the continent.
The AfCFTA 2025 conference brought together key stakeholders from across the financial and trade sectors to discuss strategies for advancing Africa’s economic growth through sustainable trade policies.
