Business
Digital Trade Key to Unlocking Africa’s Economic Potential (By Ope Babalola)
The digital transformation of customs and borders in Africa could improve efficiencies in processes and yield trade gains on the continent of $20 billion a year
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, August 5, 2022/APO Group/ —
By Ope Babalola, Managing Director of Webb Fontaine (WebbFontaine.com)
Digitalization brings new opportunities in trade and creates the potential to underpin resilience in times of crisis. The digital transformation of customs and borders in Africa could improve efficiencies in processes and yield trade gains on the continent of $20 billion a year (https://bit.ly/3cXzIgY). With digital trade in place, pre-existing bottlenecks in infrastructure can be tackled, efficiencies can be leveraged, and Innovative solutions can be harnessed. However, countries in Africa vary greatly in their readiness for digital trade.
In African countries where economic resilience must be fostered, jobs must be created and entrepreneurship must be facilitated, digital trade must be in full swing.
How digital automation is easing the flow of trade
Thanks to technological advances, importing and exporting goods and services in Nigeria has become easier thanks to the rise of online international trade administration portals (https://bit.ly/3cWv8j1). These online portals automate the experience for many stakeholders including customs officials, businesses importing finished goods and raw materials for manufacturing, and those exporting their goods across the globe.
Blockchain technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), state-of-the-art payment solutions, fraud detection and prevention, and warehouse management solutions, are helping to increase the ease of trade, streamlining border management, and identifying, and potentially overcoming issues that impact timeframes, logistics and transportation.
Using a platform of this type, such as Webb Fontaine’s Single Window for Trade, provides clients (https://bit.ly/3d8IwAC) with a wide spectrum of up-to-the-minute information including trade formalities, import and export procedures, latest tariff codes and rates, as well as fee simulation features. Businesses can fill in pre-arrival applications, official documents (such as Customs declarations, permits and licenses), applications and manifests, while ensuring all fees and taxes are taken care of through e-payment functionality on the same site.
Acting both as a transactional portal, and data collector, Single Window can cross-check credentials for consistency and traceability, reducing errors and fraud. The status of ongoing document processing can be viewed in the Single Window at any time, including on mobile devices.
In African countries where economic resilience must be fostered, jobs must be created and entrepreneurship must be facilitated, digital trade must be in full swing
Ensuring the flow of trade against any challenge
Trade’s digital automation has proven to be a valuable safeguard under the harshest conditions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many industry experts predicted a downturn in fortunes for the import and export industry due to the effects of global lockdowns on supply chains (https://pwc.to/3P11HK7). Through the leveraging of import/export platforms such as Single Window, Nigeria was able to weather this storm as operations continued unabated.
While many borders were closed, Nigeria’s ports remained open and thanks to customs operations running through online trade platforms, and the national lockdown had no negative impact on import/export revenue collection (https://bit.ly/3QjM0Pc). The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) recorded a record revenue raise, generating 1.5 trillion Naira (https://bit.ly/3zBCEYr) – its highest revenue generated in a single year. Not only was this a testament to the positive impact digital transformation and automation have had on NCS operations, it inspired other agencies to seek automation and digitization. It also made it clear to the federal Government that more could be done, setting the NCS a target of 3.01 trillion naira (https://bit.ly/3bshzYx) in revenue collections in 2022.
The flexibility afforded by digital import/export platforms have increased SMEs agility across the continent. The platforms are easy to use, and customs officials and traders are empowered to operate from any location, if they have access to a PC, or mobile phone, and an internet connection.
How digital trade platforms are giving SMEs the advantage
One of the many lessons learned from the pandemic (https://bit.ly/3vJp6ZD) is that SMEs need to embrace digital transformation, not just to weather unplanned challenges, but because it will help them be more competitive and stable. Digital enablement is not just a means of survival, it is a way for SMEs to conduct business more efficiently, which in turn can empower them to expand their operations and earnings further.
Being nimbler than their big business counterparts, SMEs can quickly rethink their marketing strategies and adopt new technologies to enhance their offerings faster. Digital innovation provides extraordinary opportunities for SMEs. It empowers them to implement new market models, have greater line of sight across their business, improve traceability, and meet their customers, service providers, and logistics partners, in many instances, all on the same page.
In the digital trading space (https://bit.ly/3bzcEoC), solutions such as import/export platforms, automated cargo-tracking and digital reporting of non-tariff barriers can provide efficient cross-border trade leveling the playing field for SMEs significantly. This in turn is good for both the customers and communities they serve as well as the continent’s economic growth on a wider scale. This stimulation of growth is crucial as SMEs in Africa are well positioned to resolve some of Africa’s most critical challenges (https://bit.ly/3BOwbw5) by creating much-needed jobs, products, and services.
Presence in Africa
The success stories of these import/export platforms have led to their increased usage across Africa. Webb Fontaine, for example, has seen them used by customs departments and businesses in Benin, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and Guinea. As more countries and enterprises embrace automation, the potential for their growth through trade expands.
The digital automation of trade processes can play a crucial part in levelling the playing field for African nations in international trade. Whether it is moving goods through ports or airports, technology has a proven track record of making operations smoother, and easier to run. It is something all businesses and governments should embrace if countries on the continent are to realize their potential for economic growth as investment hubs.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Webb Fontaine.
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Tony Elumelu Foundation Selects Seven North African Entrepreneurs in 2026 Cohort
Seven North African entrepreneurs in technology, education, professional services and agriculture selected from 265,000 applications at historic Abuja ceremony
Hope is not just a feeling — it is a system we can build
- 7 North African entrepreneurs selected from Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt
- 51% of the 2026 cohort are women, all selected purely on merit, without any quota in place
- 3,200 total entrepreneurs selected from 265,000+ applications across 54 African countries
- USD 5,000 in non-refundable seed capital for each selected entrepreneur
- Selection conducted independently by Ernst & Young
The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) (www.TonyElumeluFoundation.org), the leading philanthropy empowering young African entrepreneurs, announced on Sunday, 22 March 2026 the 12th cohort of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme at a ceremony held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. The announcement was made by Founder Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R.
Among the 3,200 entrepreneurs selected from 265,000 applications received from all 54 African countries: seven from North Africa. Three from Tunisia, two from Morocco, two from Egypt. Spanning technology, education, professional services and agribusiness, they represent a generation of North African founders building businesses that address the urgent needs of their communities. Their selection, which was conducted independently by Ernst & Young, places them among the most rigorously assessed young entrepreneurs on the continent.
This year’s cohort carries a historic signal: 51 percent of the 2026 entrepreneurs are women. They were selected purely on merit, without quota. Across hundreds of thousands of applications, women distinguished themselves through the strength of their ideas, the clarity of their business models and the ambition of their vision.
In 2026, the Foundation is empowering a total of 3,200 entrepreneurs across all its entrepreneurship programmes:
- 1,751 entrepreneurs through Heirs Holdings Group: Heirs Energies, Transcorp Power, Transcorp Hotels, and United Capital;
- 1,049 entrepreneurs in partnership with the European Commission, OACPS, BMZ and GIZ;
- 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with Sèmè City Development Agency;
- 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with DEG, the German Development Agency;
- 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with the IKEA Foundation, UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited and the Dutch Government; and
- 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with UNDP and the Rwandan Ministry of Youth and Arts.
Each selected Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur will receive USD 5,000 in non-refundable seed capital, access to world-class business management training on TEFConnect, one-on-one mentorship, and entry into a powerful network of investors, partners and fellow entrepreneurs.
In his annual letter (https://apo-opa.co/4uOFepM), “A Story of Hope,” Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R., Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, shared a powerful message to the new cohort:
“For a long time, I believed luck was something that simply happened to you. Then I came to understand: luck can be engineered. Opportunity can be democratised. Hope is not just a feeling — it is a system we can build.” — Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R., Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation — 2026 Annual Letter
The Tony Elumelu Foundation has empowered over 2.5 million young Africans with access to business management training on TEFConnect (https://TEFConnect.com), and disbursed over USD 100 million in seed capital to more than 24,000 selected entrepreneurs.
Collectively, these entrepreneurs have generated USD 4.2 billion in revenue and created more than 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs. Through its support for African entrepreneurs, TEF has lifted 2.1 million Africans above the poverty line and positively impacted more than 4 million African households, with 46% of supported entrepreneurs being African women. Eighty percent of TEF-supported businesses survive and scale, against a global average of ten to twenty percent.
The announcement ceremony was broadcast live in English (https://apo-opa.co/3PWLiML), French (https://apo-opa.co/3PWLiML), Portuguese (https://apo-opa.co/4t4Y7Da) and Arabic (https://apo-opa.co/4bYHlQl).
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Tony Elumelu Foundation.
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