Business entities in the country have been urged to take advantage of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) to explore market opportunities in other African countries to expand their operations.She said numerous business opportunities existed in other Afri­can countries and businesses in the country must harness it to expand their businesses.The Minister of Trade, Agri­business and Industry, Mrs Eliza­beth Ofosu-Adjare, made the call in a speech read on her behalf the Acting National Coordinator of AfCFTA Mr Benjamin Arthur, in Accra yesterday during the Ghana IATF2025 Roadshow in Ghana.Dubbed the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2025 African Conti­nental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Marketplace Ghana IATF2025 Business Roadshow, it wason the theme "Harnessing Regional and Continental Value Chains: Accelerating Africa's In­dustrialisation and Global Compet­itiveness under the AFCFTA."It was organised by AFCFTA, African Union and Afreximbank.Mrs Ofosu-Adjare said the IATF2025 offered a unique platform creating awareness and facilitating trade and investment information.The Minister said Africa ac­counted for a merethree per cent of global trade.She said Intra-African Trade currently stood at 17 per cent com­pared with 68 per cent and 60 per cent in Asia.The Minister expressed the hope that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) would help address this challenge.She said AfCFTA was the bold­est economic initiative to address the low trade among the African countries and to promote the de­velopment of the continent."AfCFTA is our blue print for redemption and transformation and Africa's pathway to equitable development and industrialisation," she said.Mrs Ofosu-Adjare said under the Market Expansion Project, the National Office of the AfCFTA Secretariat was training about 2000 Medium and Small-scale Entrepre­neurs on market readiness, trade finance and rules of origin."As part of the project, over 700 product lines have been issued with AfCFTA certificate of origin and 900 product lines registered to trade under AfCFTA," Mrs Ofo­su-Adjare stated.The Managing Director and Group Chief Economist of Afreximbank, Dr Yemi Kale, said the IATF2025 was the fourth since 2018.He said the programme was scheduled for September 4-10, 2025 in Algiers in Algeria.Dr Kale said the programme was expected to be attended by 2000 exhibitors with about 35,000 visitors and 140 participating countries.He said the programme was expected to generate more than $44 billion deals.The Secretary General of AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene, in her remarks said the IATF2025 road­show was designed to equip the Ghanaian public and private sec­tors, financial institutions relevant trade information."You will gain vital information about the comprehensive suite of Afreximbank products and facilities available to you, enabling you to fully seize the opportunities offered under the AfCFTA," he stated.Mr Mene said the programme was an important step in initiating a pipeline of concrete trade and investment deals that could be announced and celebrated during IATF2025 itself."I urge all Ghanaian businesses, whether you are looking to exhibit your excellence, source new sup­pliers, find investment, or simply explore the vast potential of our continental market, to actively par­ticipate in IATF2025," he stated.Mr Mene said the programme was gateway to forging new part­nerships, securing lucrative deals, and playing your part in building a truly integrated and prosperous AfricaBY KINGSLEY ASARE