Togo has placed African economic sovereignty at the centre of the continental trade agenda as Biashara Afrika 2026 opened in Lomé, bringing together policymakers, business leaders, investors and trade institutions to accelerate implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
President of the Council of the Republic of Togo, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, used the opening of the forum to call for urgent action, describing the AfCFTA as “a sovereignty tool for the continent’s economy.” His message was direct: Africa can no longer treat continental integration as a long-term aspiration while global economic competition continues to reshape supply chains, trade routes and investment flows.
The third edition of Biashara Afrika 2026 is taking place in Lomé from May 18 to 20, under the theme “Powering Africa’s Economic Transformation through the AfCFTA.” The forum brings together governments, private sector players, financial institutions and development partners to focus on moving the agreement from policy language into practical trade outcomes.
Gnassingbé pointed to the barriers that continue to weaken intra-African trade, including high logistics costs, border delays, non-tariff restrictions and inefficient customs systems. These challenges have long limited Africa’s ability to trade with itself, despite the continent having one of the world’s most ambitious free trade frameworks.
His argument reflects a wider concern among African leaders and business executives: the AfCFTA cannot deliver transformation if goods remain stuck at borders, SMEs struggle to access markets, and transport costs make regional trade more expensive than importing from outside the continent.
The AfCFTA, signed in Kigali in 2018 and now covering most African countries, aims to create a single market across a continent of about 1.3 billion people. It is the world’s largest free trade area by number of participating countries after the World Trade Organization framework, but its success depends on implementation rather than signatures alone.
That implementation challenge explains the tone in Lomé. African leaders are increasingly treating trade integration as a matter of economic security, not just development policy. In a shifting geopolitical environment marked by supply chain disruptions, tariff tensions and competition over strategic resources, no African economy can defend its interests effectively in isolation.
Gnassingbé also placed strong emphasis on inclusion, arguing that women, young people and African SMEs must benefit directly from the opportunities created under the AfCFTA. That point matters because small businesses form the backbone of most African economies, yet many remain excluded from formal cross-border trade due to finance gaps, regulatory complexity and limited market information.
This year’s forum includes roundtables, masterclasses and specialised platforms, including a Deal Room designed to support investment agreements and commercial partnerships. That structure reflects a deliberate attempt to push Biashara Afrika 2026 beyond speeches and declarations toward bankable projects, trade deals and practical cooperation.
Togo’s hosting of the forum also fits into its broader positioning as a West African trade and logistics hub. Lomé has increasingly presented itself as a gateway for regional commerce, supported by its port, financial services sector and diplomatic activism around integration and mobility. The country’s recent move to grant visa-free entry to all African nationals strengthens that positioning by linking trade facilitation with the movement of people.
The deeper test now lies in whether forums such as Biashara Afrika can help close the gap between ambition and delivery. Africa already has the policy framework for a single market. What remains uneven is the infrastructure, customs efficiency, financing access, digital systems and political discipline required to make that market function.
Biashara Afrika 2026 has therefore opened with a clear message from Lomé. Africa’s economic sovereignty will not come from declarations alone. It will depend on how quickly governments remove trade barriers, how boldly the private sector builds across borders, and how deliberately the continent turns the AfCFTA into an engine of real production, movement and value creation.