African corporate leaders will have a structured opportunity to unlock the practical potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area when the third edition of the AfCFTA Training Programme convenes in Cairo, Egypt, from 16 to 18 June 2026.
Developed and delivered by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in collaboration with the American University in Cairo and the AfCFTA Secretariat, the three-day programme is designed to bridge a gap that has quietly undermined one of Africa’s most ambitious economic projects — the disconnect between the AfCFTA’s transformative promise and the limited capacity of businesses to translate its provisions into commercial action.
The AfCFTA, which establishes the world’s largest free trade area by number of participating countries, carries enormous potential to accelerate intra-African trade, drive industrialisation, and deepen economic integration across the continent. Yet for many businesses, its legal frameworks and technical provisions remain opaque — a barrier that this programme is specifically designed to dismantle.
Participants will be equipped with actionable strategies for identifying and capitalising on trade opportunities within the AfCFTA market, managing export and import operations, navigating trade finance and supply chain logistics, and understanding how the agreement’s architecture addresses capacity constraints and expands market access for producers of goods and services across Africa.
The focus throughout is practical: converting regulatory complexity into business-ready intelligence that companies can apply immediately.
Dr Yemi Kale, Group Chief Economist and Managing Director of Research at Afreximbank, described the programme as a strategic platform for deepening AfCFTA understanding among private sector stakeholders.
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He expressed confidence that participants would leave with not only a comprehensive grasp of the agreement’s origins and dimensions, but the analytical tools to assess ongoing negotiations and identify the opportunities embedded within them.
Mohamed Ali, Director of Trade in Goods and Competition at the AfCFTA Secretariat, framed the initiative as a critical step towards unlocking intra-African trade through targeted capacity building, noting that the collaboration with Afreximbank reflects a shared commitment to equipping businesses with the institutional knowledge and practical tools they need to make the agreement work for them.
Stephen Tio Kauma, Managing Director of Human Resources at Afreximbank, highlighted the role of the Afreximbank Academy — known as AFRACAD — as the delivery vehicle for the programme, describing it as a leading trade knowledge hub built to empower businesses across Global Africa to scale, innovate, and participate meaningfully in the continent’s economic transformation.
The training is one strand of a wider portfolio of initiatives through which Afreximbank, as the African Union’s key strategic partner in AfCFTA implementation, has sought to advance both intra- and extra-African trade and investment. Capacity building sits at the centre of that mandate — and this Cairo edition marks the third consecutive year the programme has brought together corporate participants to deepen their engagement with the agreement.
For African businesses still navigating the complexities of the continent’s evolving trade landscape, the June programme offers something increasingly rare: clarity, in a room built for action.
For further information, please visit: https://www.afracad.com/afcfta
Credit: AfCFTA