Image Credit: PAFTRAC
PAFTRAC’s survey of 2,500 business leaders reveals that four in five expect their cross-border activity to increase over the next twelve months, despite AfCFTA implementation hurdles and financing constraints
October 6, 2026/PAFTRAC
– Preliminary results from the 2026 PAFTRAC (https://PAFTRAC.Afreximbank.com/) Africa CEO Trade Survey, presented at the WTO Public Forum in Geneva, revealed that 81.3 per cent of senior executives expect their cross-border activity to expand over the next twelve months.
Intra-African commerce has overtaken China, Europe, and the United States as executives’ principal target destination. However, intra-African merchandise trade remains stalled at 15-18 per cent of total exports, showing negligible change despite the operational rollout of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The survey, now in its sixth year and expanded from 400 respondents in 2021 to over 2,500 in 2026, is the most robust barometer of African executive sentiment on trade available. Its findings point to a continent where the appetite for regional integration is outpacing the systems designed to enable it.
A $31 billion penalty on African trade
At the centre of that structural gap sits a financing barrier that goes beyond access to capital. African sovereign and institutional borrowers consistently attract risk ratings from Western credit agencies that, according to IFC analysis, impose an estimated excess premium of $31 billion annually.
“The core issue is risk perception, or what many of us call a prejudice premium,” said Professor Patrick Utomi, Chairperson of PAFTRAC. “When capital is priced so that an economy actively at war receives more competitive financing than a stable, peaceful African sovereign, the system is misreading reality. Outdated global rules and subjective rating methodologies are imposing a direct tax on African trade.”
The consequences are dire. A total of 57 per cent of the executives surveyed described access to trade finance for cross-border transactions as difficult or very difficult. The IFC estimates Africa’s SME financing gap at more than $331 billion.
Implementation is the bottleneck
The survey’s findings on the AfCFTA reveal a sharp divide between commercial goodwill and operational reality. While 70.2 per cent of respondents report a tangible operational impact from AfCFTA-related reforms, awareness of the agreement’s practical execution mechanisms remains critically low.
More than half of respondents are unfamiliar with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), a framework designed to bypass the friction of dollar clearing in intra-African transactions. Knowledge of the E-Tariff Book, the African Trade Observatory and the AfCFTA’s non-tariff barrier reporting tools is similarly limited.
Full report: October 2026
The presentation was the first public unveiling of the survey’s preliminary findings. The full 2026 PAFTRAC Africa CEO Trade Survey Report is scheduled for publication in October 2026. It will provide a comprehensive analysis of trade barriers, AfCFTA implementation progress, and financing constraints, and feature private-sector policy recommendations drawn from over 2,500 executives across the continent.
To register interest in the full report or attend the launch webinar, please visit: https://apo-opa.co/4rRN0y2