PAFTRAC Africa CEO Trade Survey Report 2025
FEATURED BLOG
PAFTRAC Africa CEO Trade Survey Report 2025
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Dec, 2025
Botho, in partnership with African Business magazine, the AfCFTA Secretariat, Afreximbank, AUDA-NEPAD, the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, and the International Trade Centre, is pleased to announce the launch of the fifth edition of the annual PAFTRAC Africa CEO Trade Survey Report for 2025.
This year's report, based on insights from business leaders across the continent, shows where the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is gaining traction, and where bottlenecks still block scale.
Key findings include:
AfCFTA is viewed as a strategic buffer: 48.74% rate it “extremely important” for protecting Africa’s trade interests, clear mandate for implementation.
Cross-border activity is still limited: 49.62% do not export and 43.17% do not import from Africa, representing a large “latent trader” pipeline.
Intra-African trade concentrates in big markets: top reported export destinations include South Africa (22.51%), Kenya (20.39%), Egypt (18.73%), Nigeria (17.98%), and scale will likely come through hubs.
New partners are being explored: 41.37% report no past Gulf interaction but want to explore it, while more than 30% already engage, needing facilitation and clearer pathways.
AfCFTA support tools deliver value but awareness remains uneven: 16.02% secured trade deals via the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF), yet 30.78% remain unaware of IATF.
Digitisation is widespread but constrained: 53.64% use digital payments; barriers include cost (46.15%), internet reliability (31.16%), cybersecurity (30.84%), skills (30.09%).
The report recommends focusing on moving more African SMEs from intent to execution under AfCFTA, by reducing practical barriers to exporting and improving access to affordable, secure digital trade tools. Intermediaries are positioned to close awareness and “how-to” gaps by scaling onboarding, market intelligence, and payment guidance. Policymakers can accelerate uptake by harmonising cross-border compliance and strengthening the digital infrastructure that firms cite as binding constraints.
Read the report here