Africa’s Next Growth Leap Depends on Turning 54 Economies Into One Connected Market

World Bank Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa Ndiamé Diop stressed that Africa already has a continental free trade agreement and that implementation is now the central challenge.

Africa already has the foundations for a vast continental marketplace, yet the next stage of economic integration will depend on whether businesses can actually move goods, services, money and ideas across borders without being slowed by fragmented rules, expensive logistics and disconnected infrastructure. A new World Bank report, Integrating Africa: From Threads to Hubs, says the biggest opportunities now lie in making African markets function together, creating regional production networks where companies can source materials in one country, manufacture in another and sell across several markets with far greater predictability.

Released at an event co-hosted by the African Union Commission, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the World Bank Group, the report shifts attention from continental commitments toward the everyday systems that determine whether integration works in practice. Africa's 54 economies together represent a market of around 1.5 billion people, giving businesses enormous potential to expand production, attract investment and create employment if customs procedures, transport links, payment systems, energy networks, digital infrastructure and product standards can operate more smoothly across national borders.

Services Trade Could Become a Powerful Engine for Regional Growth

The report's strongest finding concerns services, an increasingly important part of modern production that affects almost every business through transport, finance, telecommunications, professional expertise and digital connectivity. Deeper liberalization of transport, telecommunications, financial and professional services could increase services trade within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by roughly 60–64% by 2035, creating opportunities that extend far beyond companies traditionally considered part of the services economy.

Greater regional trade could also change what Africa produces and exports. Intra-regional trade currently accounts for roughly one-fifth of Sub-Saharan Africa's total exports, while much of the continent's trade with global markets remains concentrated in commodities. Trade between African economies tends to be more diverse and manufacturing-intensive, meaning stronger regional value chains could support factories, processing businesses, logistics companies and service providers while creating a wider range of jobs connected to production.

World Bank Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa Ndiamé Diop stressed that Africa already has a continental free trade agreement and that implementation is now the central challenge. The World Bank is working with the AfCFTA Secretariat, African institutions, governments and businesses to help connect the continent's economies into a functioning market where regional production hubs can attract investment and generate jobs at greater scale.

Many of Africa's Biggest Trade Barriers Can Be Fixed Within National Borders

A message from Integrating Africa is that countries do not always need to wait for another regional agreement before reducing the cost of cross-border business. Around 60% of estimated trade costs are unilateral or "behind the border," linked to issues such as customs delays, inefficient logistics, restrictions on transport competition, fragmented product standards, barriers affecting services and inadequate infrastructure.

That gives national governments considerable room to make immediate improvements. Electronic single-window systems can reduce paperwork by allowing traders to submit information through one platform, while risk-based inspections can concentrate border checks on higher-risk shipments instead of delaying every consignment. More competitive freight markets, simpler rules of origin and stronger standards institutions could make regional supply chains easier to navigate, while opening transport, finance and professional services to greater competition could lower costs for businesses throughout the economy.

The report groups the integration agenda around four connected priorities: developing regional value chains that allow production to stretch across borders, reducing trade and regulatory friction, strengthening the implementation and enforcement of regional trade agreements, and investing in shared public goods such as transport corridors, regional electricity markets, digital networks and cross-border payment systems. Progress in one area can reinforce the others because a trade agreement delivers limited value when roads are unreliable, payments are difficult or companies still face incompatible standards in neighbouring markets.

Success Will Be Measured at Borders, in Businesses and Through Better Jobs

The report argues that Africa's integration story should ultimately be judged by what companies and ordinary people experience rather than by the number of agreements signed. Faster border crossings, cheaper logistics, reliable electricity and transport, fewer unresolved non-tariff barriers and greater recognition of qualifications and product standards would provide clearer evidence that regional integration is translating into economic opportunity.

African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson H.E. Amb. Selma Malika Haddadi also emphasized that the scale of the challenge requires cooperation among the African Union Commission, UNECA, the World Bank Group, member states, regional economic communities and private businesses. Continental frameworks need to translate into practical investments and reforms that make cross-border economic activity easier for firms and citizens.

Greater private investment and more companies participating in regional value chains would signal another important shift. Instead of African economies operating mainly as individual markets connected to distant global buyers, stronger regional hubs could allow businesses to build production networks around the continent itself, giving smaller firms access to larger customer bases and encouraging manufacturers to invest with the confidence that they can serve markets beyond a single national border.

The opportunity presented by AfCFTA is therefore much larger than lowering tariffs. Its real economic value will emerge when a truck can cross borders without unnecessary delays, a business can receive payments from customers in another African country easily, professional qualifications are recognized across markets, electricity moves through regional power systems and manufacturers can build supply chains spanning several economies. Turning those everyday connections into reality could move Africa from a collection of trading threads toward the regional production hubs envisioned by the World Bank report.