20th May 2026
The African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat has selected Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria as the first countries to implement ADAPT, a digital infrastructure initiative designed to support cross-border trade across Africa. The announcement was made in Accra on 19 May 2026.
ADAPT, which stands for Africa Digital Access and Public Infrastructure for Trade, was launched in November 2025 to replace paper-based trade processes and fragmented national systems that increase the cost of intra-African commerce. The initiative focuses on digital identity, interoperable payments, data exchange, and digitised trade documentation to support AfCFTA’s goal of integrating African markets.
The AfCFTA Secretariat said the three pilot countries were chosen after assessments of legal alignment, digital infrastructure readiness, private-sector engagement, and financing capacity. The selection of countries from East, North, and West Africa is intended to test the platform across different regulatory and trade environments before wider continental expansion.
The infrastructure is built on TWIN, an open digital trade interoperability stack, and is being implemented in partnership with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, the IOTA Foundation, and the World Economic Forum. According to Wamkele Mene, full implementation of AfCFTA could increase intra-African exports by more than 80% and generate up to $450 billion by 2035.
Implementation will begin through ADAPT Country Implementation Forums focused on connecting digital identity systems, integrating payment rails, and enabling live cross-border data exchange and digitised trade documentation. The initiative also lays the groundwork for future exploration of digital currencies and broader interoperable trade infrastructure across the continent.