Africa is exceptionally well-positioned to leverage DEAs, cloud, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement and strategic partnerships to leapfrog into a more digital, inclusive trade system.
This is among the findings of Standard Chartered’s “Future of Trade: Digitalisation” study, which polled 1 200 C-suite and senior leaders at multinational corporations (annual revenue of over $250-million) from 17 key markets – including Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria – for their views on global trade and strategies to build resilience over the next three to five years.
One of the findings was that, across all regions surveyed, 41% of corporates in Africa and the Middle East (AME) rated Digital Economy Agreements (DEAs) as the most important. A DEA is a treaty between nations that sets up shared rules for secure and inclusive digital trade, including e-commerce, payments, data flows, cybersecurity, and digital identity. The emphasis on DEAs underscores a strong regional consensus that cross-border regulatory alignment is essential to overcoming market fragmentation.
Michael Spiegel, global head, transaction banking at Standard Chartered, says: “Simultaneously, cross-industry partnerships – between banks, fintechs, providers, and regulators – are building the infrastructure for data, trust, and value to move seamlessly across borders.
“As these ecosystems converge, collaboration is shifting from a support function to a growth strategy, powering resilience and innovation.”
The core challenge for Africa is not a lack of willingness, but fragmented infrastructure and regulation. The multitude of markets, rules and systems creates an environment where achieving the scale and standardisation needed for seamless digital trade is challenging. African corporates see DEAs and strategic partnerships as critical solutions to these issues.
The report states that, by adopting the latest technology from the start and avoiding the slow process of modernising outdated processes, Africa can “leapfrog” into the digital age, bypassing old paper-based systems and moving directly to advanced solutions like electronic bills of lading, digital identities and cloud-based trade platforms.
The report also showed that before adopting advanced technologies, African businesses are prioritising robust digital foundations. Among AME respondents, 77% listed cloud computing among their top three digitalisation drivers. This focus is linked to regional initiatives to build digital skills and infrastructure.
Murat Edern, group chief financial officer at Dangote Industries, comments: “I believe digitalisation – and building business on a cloud platform – is the game changer. Being part of the necessary trade platforms is the key to making your business processes efficient, timely, and less costly.
Nigeria is named as the Digital Trade Champion under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Trade Protocol and has implemented several policies and frameworks to develop digital skills and infrastructure.
Progress on the continent is hindered by systemic challenges, such as regulatory barriers, reflecting the diversity of regulatory regimes. Coupled with a lack of universal standards, this creates integration problems between different digital platforms. In addition, adopting modern technologies requires significant resources, which can be a constraint.
There is a clear recognition that collaboration – DEAs, AfCFTA, strategic partnerships – is key to overcoming these challenges. The priority for the immediate future is setting up interoperable standards and reliable digital infrastructure to unlock efficiency, reduce fraud, and foster greater participation in global trade.
Spiegel states in his foreword that trade is “about the connection between businesses, people, and ideas. Digitalisation is unlocking new possibilities for those ready to embrace change.”