The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, H.E. Wamkele Mene, participated in Unstoppable Africa 2026, the flagship convening of the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI), held in New York on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
H.E. Mene featured in a fireside chat titled “One Continent, One Click: Creating Africa’s Digital Trade Age,” placing the spotlight on Africa’s digital trade ambition and the role of the AfCFTA in creating a more integrated continental marketplace.
The engagement highlighted the growing importance of digital trade to Africa’s economic transformation and the opportunity to use the AfCFTA’s continental regulatory framework to enable businesses to participate more effectively in cross-border commerce. With digital technologies increasingly reshaping how businesses reach consumers, make payments and access markets, Africa’s integration agenda presents an opportunity to connect national markets and expand the commercial possibilities available to businesses across the continent.
The discussion also drew attention to the continent’s projected US$700 billion digital opportunity, demonstrating the scale of economic potential that could be unlocked through digitalisation, emerging technologies and inclusive innovation.
For the AfCFTA, the digital transformation of African trade is particularly important because it has the potential to reduce traditional barriers associated with distance and fragmented markets while creating new pathways for enterprises to reach customers beyond their national borders.
The conversation equally underscored the importance of ensuring that Africa’s digital trade transformation is inclusive. Harnessing the continent’s digital opportunity will require an environment in which businesses of different sizes, including entrepreneurs and emerging enterprises, can participate in and benefit from the expanding digital economy.
H.E. Mene’s participation at Unstoppable Africa 2026 reinforced the AfCFTA Secretariat’s wider implementation agenda: moving Africa towards a more connected and integrated market in which continental rules and emerging technologies can support increased intra-African trade and investment.
Convened by GABI, Unstoppable Africa provides a platform for advancing Africa’s position in the global economy and promoting the continent as a destination for business, trade and investment.
The Secretary-General’s engagement in New York therefore provided another opportunity to place the AfCFTA at the centre of discussions about Africa’s economic future, one increasingly shaped by the convergence of continental market integration, digital trade and innovation.
