More than $100bil­lion investment deals have been signed since the inception of the Intra-African Trade Fairs (IATFs) in 2018, the Managing Director and Group Chief Economist of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Dr Yemi Kale, has said.He said the fairs had moved beyond dis­cussions to real action, creating opportuni­ties for African businesses to strike business deals.Dr Kale stated this in an interview with The Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday on the sidelines of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2025 Ghana High-Level Roadshow in Accra on Tuesday.The programme was on the theme "Harnessing Regional and Continental Value-Chains: Accelerating Africa's Industri­alisations and Global Competitiveness under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)."It was organised by AfCFTA, African Union Africa Export Import Bank (Afrex­imbank.)The IATF2025 is scheduled for Septem­ber 4-10, 2025 in Algiers in Algeria.Dr Kale explained that most of the deals were in the areas of agriculture, manufactur­ing, technology and services.He noted that in the previous edition held in Egypt in 2023, more than $44 billion worth of trade and investment deals were signed among African businesses.He explained that the IATF, an initiative supported by Afreximbank, had emerged as a key platform to facilitate trade across African countries."These are not theoretical conversations.

We are seeing Ghanaian businesses discover suppliers in Kenya, Nigerian firms finding partners in South Africa, and Rwandan pro­ducers exporting to West Africa.

This is what transformation looks like," he said.Dr Kale noted that infrastructure chal­lenges continued to hinder the smooth flow of goods across the continent.To address this, Dr Kale said Afrexim­bank was working with governments to im­prove infrastructure and logistics, including port facilities, road and rail connections, and customs systems.He called on Ghanaian businesses and stakeholders in the private sector to actively participate in IATF 2025, scheduled to take place in Algiers, Algeria."The more we trade with each other, the more our economies grow.

This is how we reduce dependency on external markets and secure Africa's economic future," Dr Kale said.The IATF is expected to attract thou­sands of businesses from across the continent, reinforcing efforts to deepen the African Continental Free Trade Area (Af­CFTA) agenda.The Secretary-General of the Af­CFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, said the IATF2025 was important because "Because Africa's path to genuine, inclusive prosperity depends on stronger trade performance; a fundamental prerequisite for lifting our people out of poverty.""But, for too long, Africa's share of world trade has stagnated at just around 3 per cent.