IATF 2025 exceeds expectations with record $48.3bn in trade deals

Week-long fair featured 2 148 exhibitors from 132 countries and more than 112 000 delegates

- SIPHELELE DLUDLA

THE curtain has fallen on the Intra-African Trade Fair 2025 (IATF 2025), and the event has officially set a new record in trade deals, promising to be a game-changer for Africa's economic integration. Organised by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), this year's fair facilitated a significant $48.3 billion in trade and investment agreements against the target of $44bn.

Algeria accounted for $11.4bn in signed deals, with another $11.6bn currently in the pipeline.

This considerable figure eclipses the $43bn in deals from the previous fair held in Cairo in 2023 and the $42bn agreements made in Durban in 2021, spotlighting the event's critical role in unlocking Africa’s economic potential.

The week-long fair attracted a remarkable turnout, featuring 2 148 exhibitors from 132 countries and more than 112 000 delegates.

Dr Gainmore Zanamwe, Afreximbank’s director of trade facilitation and investment promotion, noted that the 2025 event surpassed the key performance indicators set by the Advisory Council, highlighting the growing interest and enthusiasm for intra-African trade.

Former Nigerian President and chair of the IATF Advisory Council, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, declared the event a resounding success that “exceeded all expectations and targets.”