7 September, 2026
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has signed a joint venture agreement with Ghana-based Quest Ghana Limited to develop a digital trade corridor aimed at supporting efforts to more than double intra-African trade from approximately $200 billion to $500 billion and beyond. The initiative is expected to provide digital infrastructure to facilitate cross-border trade across the continent.
The proposed corridor, valued at $5.17 billion by Quest Ghana, will combine a digital marketplace, an African Minerals and Commodities Exchange, and a continental interoperable payment system. It will also include logistics infrastructure to support the trading, tracking and settlement of minerals and commodities. However, no financing commitment or capital investment figure has been disclosed by the parties.
The agreement was signed in Accra on 31 August, following a memorandum of understanding signed in March and Cabinet approval by the Seychelles government in July. Seychelles will provide sovereign support for the joint venture and host its headquarters in Victoria. AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene said the initiative would provide businesses, particularly micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, with digital infrastructure to facilitate trade across African markets.
A key objective of the project is to address Africa’s fragmented cross-border payments system. The AfCFTA Secretariat estimates that payments associated with intra-African trade cost more than $5 billion annually. The proposed interoperable payment system is intended to reduce transaction costs and simplify settlement, while national central banks will retain responsibility for determining exchange rates. The corridor will facilitate payments rather than determine the value of currencies.
The AfCFTA, which entered into force in 2019, seeks to create a single African market serving approximately 1.4 billion people with a combined GDP of around $3.4 trillion. Under the joint venture, the AfCFTA Secretariat and Quest Ghana will design, develop and operate the digital corridor. Details regarding the ownership structure, financing arrangements and full rollout timetable remain undisclosed. If successfully implemented at scale, the initiative could reduce barriers to cross-border trade and strengthen intra-African commerce, particularly in the minerals and commodities sectors.