Policymakers and private sector leaders at the West Africa Business Summit (WAES 2025) have called for stronger coordination, practical reforms, and production-focused policies to unlock the full benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Among several strategic conversations held during the summit, one of the key panel sessions, titled “Overcoming Barriers to Harnessing AfCFTA for Stronger Intra-Regional Trade in West Africa”, featured high-level perspectives on production, trade fairness, and cross-border coordination.

Moderated by Yvonne Ike, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa at Bank of America, the panel brought together distinguished voices including Nigeria’s Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole; Benin’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, Shadiya Alimatou Assouman; Abubakar Suleiman, MD/CEO of Sterling Bank; Farouk Gumel, Vice Chairman of Tropical General Investments (TGI) Group; and Jubril Enakele, CEO of IRON Capital Partners.

Farouk Gumel urged stakeholders to recognise that informal systems of trade already function across the continent and must be understood rather than overridden. “We need to understand the difference between Africa and Africans. It is a tribal continent. The tribal connectivity is the driver of African trade today.”

CEO of Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman, called for better data and smarter digital infrastructure to support small-scale cross-border traders. “The cost of payment today causes friction in the continent,” he said. “We need a framework to know all the small traders—only then can you bring in incentives that would allow them to grow.”