The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and Quest Ghana have signed a Joint Venture Agreement to establish a Digital Trade Corridor aimed at transforming cross-border trade and accelerating Africa’s digital economic integration.
The agreement was signed at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra on Monday, August 31, 2026, in the presence of government officials, diplomats, private-sector representatives and other stakeholders.
AfCFTA Secretary General Wamkele Mene described the agreement as a significant milestone towards the operationalisation of the Protocol on Digital Trade and the creation of what he said would be the first integrated continental digital trade infrastructure of its kind.
He said the corridor would facilitate and track cross-border trade transactions in compliance with AfCFTA rules while creating a more connected and efficient digital environment for businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
According to Mene, Africa’s digital economy presents a major opportunity for economic transformation because digital technologies can enable young people, SMEs, informal traders and smallholder farmers to access markets across the continent.
He said Africa recorded more than US$220 billion in trade in goods and services in 2024, with a significant portion involving manufactured and value-added products.
Mene further cited projections by the International Finance Corporation that Africa’s combined digital economy could reach about US$712 billion by 2035.
He said the continent must therefore move beyond policy discussions and deploy the infrastructure needed to translate the potential of digital trade into tangible economic opportunities.
“This is the opportunity for Africa to leverage on the digital economy to deploy all the digital tools that are required for us to translate this opportunity into a reality,” he said.
The Digital Trade Corridor is expected to support cross-border transaction tracking, market connectivity and payment systems.
Mene said the initiative would also contribute to retaining more revenue within Africa by enabling payments to take place using local currencies rather than relying on third currencies or intermediaries outside the continent.
He said the project would be implemented through a partnership involving governments, the private sector and national institutions, with the first three years expected to focus on demonstrating the viability of the concept and building transaction volumes.
Mene also disclosed that more than US$5.1 billion in private-sector investment had been mobilised with support from the government of Seychelles for Africa’s digital infrastructure.
Seychelles is expected to host the headquarters of the joint venture.
Mene commended the government of Seychelles for its commitment to the initiative, describing the decision to host the headquarters as an indication of the country’s confidence in digital infrastructure as a driver of economic transformation.
Executive Chairman of Quest Ghana Philip Gamey said the initiative was designed to create the digital infrastructure required to facilitate the free flow of goods, services and capital across African borders.
He said the project would include the development of a continental African minerals and commodities exchange through which African resources could be priced and traded on the continent.
Gamey said the platform would introduce what he described as a Fair Value Index (FVI), with the objective of enabling African producers to have greater influence over the pricing of their commodities.
He said Quest Ghana was also developing a payment system built on the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to facilitate cross-border transactions in local currencies.
Under the proposed system, he explained, a trader could make a payment in one African currency while the recipient receives the equivalent value in another African currency.
Gamey further announced plans for a continent-wide digital marketplace that would enable businesses, including smallholder farmers and informal traders, to access a potential market of more than 1.4 billion people.
He said the project was intended to help increase intra-African trade from its current level of about 16 per cent to 50 per cent and beyond.
Seychelles Minister for Finance, Economic Planning, Trade and Investment Pierre Laporte said his government had given its support to the initiative and secured Cabinet approval for the project in July.
He said Seychelles had also earmarked land for the construction of the joint venture’s headquarters and would provide incentives to support the initiative.
Laporte said hosting the headquarters reflected Seychelles’ ambition to contribute to Africa’s digital transformation despite being the continent’s smallest nation.
The signing marks a further step in efforts to implement the AfCFTA’s digital trade agenda and create infrastructure capable of supporting more efficient, inclusive and integrated intra-African commerce.