Biashara Afrika 2026: Turning Talks into Trade in Lome

On Sunday, 17 May, we left Lagos and arrived in Lome, Togo's capital, for the third Biashara Afrika. This event is a major business forum that gathers African leaders, ministers, policy makers, small businesses, investors, and entrepreneurs. The goal is to push forward the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) and boost trade within Africa.

The Togolese government and the AfCFTA Secretariat hosted Biashara Afrika 2026. This year, it was both a trade and investment forum and a place for important policy and partnership announcements. The word “Biashara” means “trade” in Kiswahili and shows the forum’s aim to put African entrepreneurs, small businesses, women, and youth at the forefront of the AfCFTA story.

The summit took place at Palais des Congres from 18 to 20 May. The theme was, “Powering Africa’s Economic Transformation through the AfCFTA.” This summit marked a change in how AfCFTA is implemented, moving from just discussions to real actions that help move goods, services, and people across borders.

AfCFTA is a key project of the African Union under Agenda 2063. By 2025, 54 AU member states will have signed the Agreement, and 50 have ratified it. This makes AfCFTA the biggest free trade area in the world by membership. It was launched in 2018, but actual trading started in 2021.

The AfCFTA Agreement has a framework and legally binding rules. So far, the protocols adopted include Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, Rules and Procedures on Disputes, Competition Policy, Intellectual Property Rights, Investment, Digital Trade, and Women and Youth in Trade.

After the earlier editions in Cape Town and Kigali, the talks during Biashara Afrika 3.0 in Lome were centered on “Africa for Africa” or “One Africa, One Market.” The aim is to boost regional integration, unlock value chains, and change Africa’s economy into a borderless continent, with AfCFTA leading the way. The goal is to build a single market of 54 countries instead of 54 separate markets. With a combined GDP of $3.4 billion and a population of 1.4 billion, African businesses have a huge market and great chances to grow, without the worry of competition from the US, EU, or China.

AfCFTA helps reduce trade barriers and harmonize policies. This makes cross-border business and investment easier and positions Africa as a united economic force in global trade. The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), set up by Afreximbank, allows businesses to pay in local currencies.

Wamkele Mene, the Secretary General of AfCFTA Secretariat, said, “AfCFTA is no longer an aspiration; it is a functioning instrument of integration, powered by institutions, backed by political will, and increasingly owned by the private sector.”

Tony Elumelu, a billionaire entrepreneur and chairman of The Tony Elumelu Foundation, often shares his Africapitalism philosophy. He believes Africa should develop through its private sector, especially by empowering African entrepreneurs and long-term investors. Elumelu has invested over $100 million since 2015 to train, mentor, and fund young African entrepreneurs. As of the 2024 cohort, the Foundation has selected over 18,000 beneficiaries across all 54 African countries. Each gets $5,000 in seed capital, business training, and mentorship. I am one of the mentors for this program. These entrepreneurs have created over 400,000 jobs and made more than $1.5 billion in revenue together.

Biashara Afrika and Tony Elumelu’s Africapitalism have the same goal: to change Africa economically and create wealth for society. “But to achieve this moment of economic consequence,” says Mene, “African countries must be ready to power it.”

At the opening session in Lome on 18 May, several speakers took the stage. Togo’s Minister of Economy and Strategic Monitoring, Badanam Patoku, welcomed the summit delegates first. Next was Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole. After her, former Niger President and AU Champion for AfCFTA, Mahamadou Issoufou, spoke, followed by Wamkele Mene and Togo's President, Faure Gnassingbe.

When Oduwole spoke, she bravely told the audience that two delegates were denied entry into Togo with their ECOWAS passports. Gnassingbe listened from his VVIP seat. This news shocked everyone. Later, I learned that one was a Nigerian man and the other a Ghanaian woman.

The Nigerian had both Nigerian and EU passports, while the Ghanaian, living in Paris, held Ghanaian and US passports. Since they did not arrive from their home countries, airport immigration officials insisted they get Togolese visas on their foreign passports, valid for just 48 hours.

The female delegate, whom I met during lunch, called the airport incident “ridiculous.” Oduwole mentioned that the Nigerian was so upset he said he might not want to invest in Togo anymore.

You can imagine how Oduwole felt sharing this story. She is the incoming Chair of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers, which consists of trade and industry ministers from member states. Her job is to shift AfCFTA from policy to real trade, eliminate non-tariff barriers, improve digital trade infrastructure, and make the movement of goods and services easier across Africa.

When Gnassingbe spoke, he showed his frustration and embarrassment. He told the immigration and border control authorities to fix the visa issues raised by Oduwole right away.

The Togolese government responded and announced that African passport holders and investors can now enter Togo without a visa for up to 30 days, as long as they have valid national passports and complete an online travel declaration before arriving. This was announced by the Minister of Security and Civil Protection, Mr. Calixte Batossie Madjoulba, on 18 May during the summit. The AfCFTA Secretariat and Afreximbank welcomed this as a “major breakthrough for mobility, trade, and investment across Africa.”

Participants at the forum emphasized that making it easier for African citizens, entrepreneurs, and investors to move around is key for inter-African trade. Togo’s decision shows what visa liberalization can achieve for business travel and trade. Other African countries with visa restrictions should follow Togo’s lead.

Togo was a fantastic host for Biashara Afrika 2026, positioning itself as a logistics and transport hub for West and Central Africa, thanks to its deep-water port and early AfCFTA implementation.

Nigeria’s Minister Oduwole highlighted the shift from talk to trade action, stating clearly, “Africa has spent years negotiating agreements and signing protocols. Now, Africa must focus on practical implementation that delivers economic opportunities for businesses and citizens.”

Biashara Afrika in Lome showed this shift. The discussions were less about tariffs and more about how small businesses can clear goods, obtain finance, and find buyers. The summit focused on business-to-business meetings and side events on trade finance, value chains, and partnerships. AfCFTA Secretary General Mene stressed that the success of the agreement “will ultimately be measured by the extent to which African businesses are able to trade across borders with greater ease and opportunity.”

A new partnership between the AfCFTA Secretariat and the International Trade Centre (ITC), signed during the summit, aims to create real commercial opportunities for small businesses, women-owned, and youth-led enterprises. ITC estimates that intra-African trade could grow by an extra $22 billion each year by 2029 under AfCFTA through tariff cuts and developing regional value chains. This partnership seeks to help businesses capture that value.

Biashara Afrika serves as a space for policy breakthroughs. When governments are ready to announce reforms, the forum provides a continental audience. This dynamic was clear in Lome.

A common theme was Africa’s need to move beyond exporting raw materials. Speakers pointed out that while Morocco’s automotive sector, Kenya’s fintech, and Nigeria’s new refinery are successes, they remain isolated.

One speaker remarked, “What Africa needs from global partners is not charity, but collaboration, technology transfer, fair access to markets, and investment in regional value chains.” The summit urged for clear financing commitments for value-added industries, cross-border supply chains, logistics, power, and regional manufacturing hubs in line with AfCFTA.

The low intra-African trade rate, about 15-18 percent of total trade, was often mentioned as troubling, compared to over 60 percent in Europe and Asia. The gap is not due to a lack of agreements, but to barriers in transport, finance, information, and movement.

When Dr. Hortense Me, Executive Secretary of AfCFTA Abidjan-Lagos Corridor, revealed that there are 41 “official” checkpoints between Abidjan and Lagos, the audience reacted with displeasure. Each checkpoint in Africa is a major trade barrier that hinders the AfCFTA vision.

Biashara Afrika 2026 in Lome was not just another talkshop. It was a working session on making AfCFTA real for African businesses. As I listened to various speakers, it is clear that Africa is moving from hopes to actions.