Enterprise Ecosystems

Afreximbank and EABC deal aims to boost Africa’s digital trade

Afreximbank and EABC deal aims to boost Africa’s digital trade

Two recent deals, one involving Afreximbank, the other involving financial service provider Absa Group, indicate the growing reach of digital trade and payments in Africa.

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the East African Business Council (EABC) have signed the Africa Trade Gateway (ATG) Agency Agreement, connecting the region's enterprises, including SMEs and major exporters, to the 300-million-strong East African Community (EAC) Common Market, and the wider African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) market of 1.3 billion consumers, through digital trade.

Afreximbank is a pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra and extra-African trade. EABC is an advocacy body of private sector associations and corporates from the eight EAC Partner States (Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Federal Republic of Somalia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan).

Afreximbank describes the ATG as its flagship digital trade ecosystem, connecting businesses, financial institutions and trade partners across Africa and beyond. From a single integrated platform, it links businesses to trusted counterparties and trade-enabling services — trade finance, payments, compliance, logistics, and market intelligence — to facilitate cross-border transactions.

The partnership, says Eximbank, combines EABC’s regional business network with ATG’s digital trade services to help businesses find verified buyers and suppliers across Africa and beyond, access information on trading partners and connect with finance and payment solutions.

It adds that the partnership enables the East African Business Council (EABC) to join a growing network of trade-supporting institutions across Africa that work together to connect businesses with opportunities beyond their regional markets. Strengthening these connections will help more businesses expand across borders and capitalise on the opportunities created by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Ahmed Farah, CEO, East African Business Council, explains: “EABC is empowering East African enterprises with knowledge on AfCFTA market opportunities, Rules of Origin, tariff concessions, customs procedures and export requirements, complemented by tailored advisory support on market entry and export readiness. As a trade corridor partner for the Afreximbank Africa Trade Gateway (ATG), EABC is connecting enterprises to the ecosystem, enabling access to business-to-business matchmaking and trade finance solutions that can facilitate intra-African trade under the AfCFTA.”

Launched in June 2023, ATG now operates in more than 45 African countries, connecting 45 trade-supporting institutions, 110 commercial banks, and 25,000 verified companies, with what is described as an opportunity pipeline of US$4.5 billion across commodities, minerals, oil and gas, FMCG, and other African-made products. By consolidating the services trade requires, ATG helps businesses trade with greater confidence, efficiency and scale.

Meanwhile Absa Group, one of Africa’s largest diversified financial services providers, says it has selected Thunes, which has built a proprietary global network of direct connections to local payment brands, as a strategic multicurrency clearing (MCC) partner for the Group.

The new collaboration builds on the two companies’ recent launch of Absa Global Pay in South Africa which, they say, demonstrated the value of combining Absa’s strong banking franchise and pan-African reach with Thunes’ global payment connectivity and local-market capabilities. The expanded relationship will now support Absa’s broader cross-border payments strategy across Africa and global markets.



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