COMFORT EKELEME, Business EditorLagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu said Africa must embrace technology to simplify cross-border transactions and improve efficiency.
Speaking in Lagos at the NEPAD Business Group Nigeria High-level Business Forum, he said digital trade, e-commerce and fintech are changing how business is done.
Sanwo-Olu who was represented by the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem also said that government must focus on empowering Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
The theme of the forum is “Mobilising Africa’s Private Sector for AfCFTA Towards Africa’s Economic Development Amid Global Uncertainty”.
Sanwo-Olu maintained that SMEs are the heartbeat of Africa’s private sector, stressing that they create jobs and sustain communities.
According to him, the success of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) lies in private sector buy-in.
To empower the SMES, Sanwo-Olu stated that there is need to improve access to finance, mentorship, and technology.
He said, “This is the time for collaboration, not competition; for unity; not isolation. If we succeed in mobilizing our private sector effectively, Africa will be able to overcome global uncertainty, emerge stronger, richer, and more self-reliant.
Speaking further he noted that Lagos has been championing this through initiatives like Lagos the State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), which provides capital and training to entrepreneurs.
He noted that scaling such initiatives across Africa will help SMEs benefit directly from AfCFTA.
“Lagos is already leading in this space as the tech capital of Nigeria – a model that can inspire other regions.
“As leaders, investors, and stakeholders gathered here today, our duty is to make that vision real. I want us to take this forum as a call to action to turn Africa’s potential into prosperity.Thank you all and God bless.
“The decision of NEPAD Business Group Nigeria to bring this forum to Lagos is not accidental.
“We must recognize that the AfCFTA is a strategic tool for reducing trade barriers, expanding markets, and offering value chains room to expand.
“Lagos state Government continues to invest in critical infrastructure, improve transport connectivity, strengthen logistics chains, and build the digital backbone that modern trade requires,” he said.
Speaking further, the Lagos State governor
stated that the success of AfCFTA depends largely on how we mobilize our private sector, the true engine of job creation, innovation, and productivity.
In his goodwill message, President of the the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Dr Abdulrashid Yerima, said that the AfCFTA stands as one of the most ambitious instruments of collective empowerment ever conceived on the continent.
He said, “It offers us the chance to transform fragmented national markets into a unified, dynamic economic zone—one that harnesses our human capital, natural resources, innovation and enterprise.Industrialization, entrepreneurship, and innovation remain the pillars upon which strong, prosperous nations are built.
“As private‑sector leaders, the employers of labour, the designers of value chains, the creators of opportunity, we bear the responsibility to lead Africa out of the periphery and into relevance.
“Our task is to move from aspiration to achievement, from potential to performance.It is therefore critical that we link our vision for AfCFTA with concrete global frameworks, so that Africa’s private sector is not only regionally integrated but globally competitive,” he said.
He highlight the OECD Digital for SMEs Global Initiative (D4SME), a worldwide collaborative knowledge platform which supports small and medium‑enterprises in their digitalisation journey.
“By connecting Africa’s SME ecosystem to such global initiatives, we anchor our strategy in world‑class practice and unlock access to knowledge, partnerships and resources that will raise our competitiveness.
“We must also build the associative capacity of MSMEs engaged in production and trade. Collective strength is vital — because no SME can scale alone in a continental market of 1.4 billion people.
*We need sustained support for strengthening MSME cooperatives, clusters,associations, and industrial networks under AfCFTA governance structures,” he said.
Also speaking, President of the African Business Roundtable (ABR), Mr Samuel Dossou-Aworet said hosting this high level conference is in continuation of the tradition of putting Africa in the middle of global conversations, global concern and global relevance
He said, “It is our way of ensuring that Africa’s voice is heard, and we are doing this for the Africa’s private sector.
“The choice of theme reflects the growing recognition that the implementation of structural economic reforms by many Africa countries has opened investment opportunities for both private domestic and foreign investors in the region,” he said.
According to him, Africa needs innovative financing mechanisms to complement traditional banking instruments.
He noted that in terms of trade, Africa needs market access and trade facilitation to enable African products to access the markets of the countries of the developed world.
“The energy of Africa’s creative economy also must be harnessed.Truly, issues abound, but we cannot solve everything in one day, neither can our meeting of today proffer all solutions.
“Our goal is to jumpstart actions that will bring solutions, and that is a share responsibility involving Governments, Businesses, the international business and development community,” he said.
