Africa recorded a growth rate of 3.2% in 2024, despite the challenging global environment, according to the Afreximbank Research Report.
The Group Chief Economist, Dr. Yemi Kale, disclosed this while presenting the 2025 African Trade and Economic Outlook (ATEO) Report in Abuja.
Although the growth rate is an achievement, it is still below the pre-pandemic growth rate of 5%.
Kale attributed the performance to stronger public investment, high commodity prices, and the early success of diversification strategies.
“Africa’s merchandise trade recovered in 2024, rebounding by 13.9% to reach $1.5 trillion,” he said.
Intra-African trade showed a remarkable upturn in 2024, growing by 12.4% to reach $220.3 billion. Kale emphasized that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is emerging as a foundation for the continent’s trade resilience.
Despite the progress, Africa still faces challenges, including a 100 billion-dollar annual trade-finance gap that constrains most African small and medium enterprises from participating in regional value chains.
However, Kale noted that Africa’s financial architecture is restructuring and beginning to respond to new economic realities.
To unlock Africa’s potential, Kale emphasized the need to: close the trade-finance gap; strengthen African development finance institutions; accelerate AfCFTA implementation; expand digital payment infrastructure; use Africa’s G20 seat to push for reforms in global financial rulemaking
Kale concluded that “financial sovereignty, digital integration, and coordinated diplomacy must form the foundation for Africa to overcome global disruption and build a more sustainable, shock-resistant, and opportunity-rich trade future.”
