The African Continental Free Trade Area’s secretary-general told the continent’s largest technology and startup gathering that digital tools are the most powerful instrument for unlocking intra-African trade, citing a world-first protocol as evidence of the continent’s readiness to lead.
Wamkele Mene made the remarks at GITEX Africa Morocco 2026 in Marrakech on Tuesday, where he argued that AfCFTA’s digital trade protocol gives African nations a framework to shape digital commerce on their own terms.
“Digital technologies will be key to unlocking Africa’s full potential,” Mene said. “Our digital trade protocol, the first of its kind in the world, offers Africa an opportunity to leapfrog and to be at the cutting edge of digital innovation.”
Morocco’s minister of digital transition and administrative reform, Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni, set the tone for the three-day event with a statement framing technological ambition as a force for collective advancement.
“The Moroccan technological ambition is a bold initiative that seeks to demonstrate that it is possible to build a technological power defined by its ability to unite, to place innovation at the service of development and the common good,” she said.
The two statements reflect a broader shift in how African governments and institutions are approaching technology, treating it as an instrument of economic sovereignty rather than an imported solution.
That conversation is unfolding against a concrete set of challenges. Intra-African trade stands at roughly 15% of the continent’s total exports, well below comparable figures for other regional blocs.
Youth unemployment remains elevated across much of the continent, and most small businesses still lack meaningful access to cross-border markets.
Proponents of digital integration argue that mobile payments, AI-driven logistics and interoperable digital infrastructure can reduce the distance between ambition and economic participation for millions of small traders and entrepreneurs.
The fourth edition of GITEX Africa brings together more than 1,450 exhibitors from 145 countries under the theme “Catalyzing Africa’s Digital Economy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” The event runs April 7-9 at Place Bab Jdid in Marrakech, Morocco.
