The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, has commended Nigeria for becoming the first State Party to complete parliamentary ratification of the AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade, describing it as a landmark step towards building a seamless digital single market across Africa.
Speaking at the AfCFTA Digital Trade Forum in Lagos, Mene said Nigeria’s ratification demonstrates the political commitment required to unlock the continent’s digital economy and accelerate the implementation of one of the most transformative protocols under the AfCFTA Agreement.
He urged other member states to expedite their domestic ratification processes to ensure the Protocol enters into force and delivers tangible benefits for businesses and consumers across Africa.
The AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade establishes a common legal and regulatory framework for conducting digital commerce across African borders. It seeks to harmonise rules governing electronic transactions, digital payments, consumer protection, data governance, cybersecurity, electronic signatures and digital identities, while reducing regulatory fragmentation that has long constrained cross-border digital business on the continent.
According to the AfCFTA Secretariat, Africa’s digital economy is currently valued at approximately US$180 billion and is projected to expand to around US$712 billion by 2050, driven by rapid internet penetration, mobile money innovation, increasing smartphone adoption and the continent’s youthful population. The Protocol is expected to provide the policy certainty needed to support this growth while enabling African businesses to scale across borders.
Despite this potential, Mene cautioned that significant challenges remain. He identified inadequate digital infrastructure, the high cost of internet access, inconsistent regulatory regimes, limited digital public infrastructure and persistent digital skills gaps as key barriers that must be addressed if Africa is to realise a truly integrated digital market under the AfCFTA.
To support implementation, the AfCFTA Secretariat is rolling out several continental initiatives, including the Africa Digital Access and Public Infrastructure for Trade (ADAPT) programme and the Digital Inclusion and Entrepreneurship Programme. These initiatives are designed to strengthen digital infrastructure, expand access to online markets and equip micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), women and young entrepreneurs with the tools needed to participate in digital trade.
Participants at the forum underscored that the Digital Trade Protocol has the potential to significantly increase intra-African trade by lowering transaction costs, facilitating secure cross-border digital payments and creating a more predictable business environment for technology companies, financial institutions and online merchants. They also noted that effective implementation could stimulate innovation, attract investment and generate employment across the continent’s expanding digital economy.
Held under the theme “Digital Trade for a Connected African Market,” the two-day forum convened ministers, policymakers, regulators, technology companies, financial institutions, investors, entrepreneurs and development partners to discuss practical pathways for operationalising the Protocol. Deliberations focused on regulatory harmonisation, digital payments, digital infrastructure, innovation ecosystems and strategies for ensuring that all African countries can benefit from digital integration.
Nigeria’s ratification comes at a critical stage in the operationalisation of the AfCFTA, as member states seek to complement the liberalisation of trade in goods and services with rules governing the rapidly growing digital economy. The Digital Trade Protocol is widely regarded as one of the Agreement’s most consequential legal instruments because it lays the foundation for cross-border e-commerce and digital service delivery within the world’s largest free trade area by membership.
The AfCFTA Secretariat has consistently maintained that a fully integrated African digital market will be essential to achieving the broader objectives of the continental free trade area, including boosting intra-African trade, strengthening economic competitiveness and fostering inclusive growth. Nigeria’s ratification is therefore expected to provide fresh momentum for other member states to complete their own domestic processes and accelerate the continent’s transition towards a more connected and digitally enabled African economy.
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