Stakeholders at the Workshop on African Trade Settlement Innovation, held on 8–9 May 2026 at Walis Hotel and Suites, Abuja, have called for a stronger Africa-centred approach to trade coordination and settlement aimed at reducing barriers to intra-African commerce.
The workshop was convened under the auspices of the Prof Ngozi Egbuna International Centre for Research and Innovation in Traditional Resources (ICRITR), Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. It brought together scholars, legal experts, financial sector professionals, technology specialists, and trade policy stakeholders to examine persistent challenges affecting trade settlement across Africa.
Participants discussed issues including foreign exchange constraints, fragmented commodity valuation systems, and limited settlement infrastructure. They noted that these challenges continue to affect trade efficiency across the continent, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The meeting also examined the proposed African Structured Reciprocal Trade and Credit Model (ASTRA-C) and the Zamani platform, a digitally enabled framework intended to support structured trade coordination, verified commodity exchange, and transparent settlement processes within Africa’s evolving trade ecosystem.
Participants agreed on several broad outcomes, including:
· Establishment of a Technical Working Group to further develop the framework’s governance, legal, and operational structure.
· Adoption of a phased implementation approach beginning with research, regulatory engagement, and prototype development.
· Commitment to full compliance with applicable national and international regulatory requirements.
· Exploration of pilot opportunities within agriculture, energy, and pharmaceutical supply chains.
· Emphasis on legal review, counterparty verification, dispute resolution mechanisms, and anti-money laundering safeguards.
Participants stressed that the Zamani initiative is intended to complement existing monetary and banking systems, not replace them, and that no operational rollout will proceed without the necessary regulatory approvals and institutional consultations.
The workshop further underscored the importance of strong governance, transparent oversight, data protection, and institutional accountability as essential foundations for any cross-border trade coordination mechanism.
Speaking at the close of the workshop, stakeholders emphasized that Africa’s growing trade ambitions under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) require innovative but responsible systems capable of supporting trusted and efficient commercial exchange across borders.
The initiative’s next phase will focus on technical design, institutional partnership-building, and formal engagement with relevant regulatory bodies in Nigeria and across the wider AfCFTA ecosystem.
The workshop acknowledged the intellectual leadership of Prof. Ngozi Egbuna and ICRITR, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, for initiating the research and convening the dialogue that informed the workshop outcomes.
