Turning Sub-Saharan Africa’s trade momentum into lasting advantage
By Tobias Maier, CEO Middle East and Africa, DHL Global Forwarding
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded the fastest trade value growth globally in 2025, with trade expanding by around 10 percent in the first half of the year, outpacing all other regions at a time of heightened global uncertainty. In the first half of the year, exports surged 16 percent, double the rate of East Asia and the Pacific. Countries like Ghana, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal are proving that Africa’s trade infrastructure, long dismissed as underdeveloped, is becoming an influential force in a fragmenting global economy.
But momentum alone doesn’t guarantee transformation. Whether this momentum can translate into lasting advantage depends on the structural factors driving Africa’s trade resilience, the infrastructure deficits that could stall it, and the strategic investments required to convert a growth spike into a generational economic shift.
Understanding Africa’s trade resilience
Sub-Saharan Africa’s trade performance remains resilient, driven by several converging factors we’re witnessing firsthand across DHL’s operations. They are economic diversification, demographic strength, digital transformation, and regional integration.
The region’s economies are increasingly diversified beyond traditional commodity exports, and we’re now moving goods across sectors that barely existed a decade ago, from solar power technology to pharmaceutical manufacturing. Global businesses are also increasingly recognising Africa as a significant consumer market. With 1.3 billion people and a young, expanding population, the continent’s demand is reshaping global supply chains.
At the same time, digital infrastructure improvements are enabling new forms of trade that were previously impossible. Mobile banking and digital payments are transforming commerce. In countries like Nigeria and Ghana, mobile money is dismantling traditional barriers and opening e-commerce channels that connect previously isolated markets.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is accelerating this momentum by uniting 54 countries into a single market and fundamentally changing how businesses think about African trade – not as 54 separate markets, but as an integrated economic bloc.
This combination of economic diversification, demographic strength, digital innovation, and trade policy reform has created a resilient foundation that’s proving remarkably durable amid global uncertainty.
The infrastructure reality
Despite this positive momentum, significant bottlenecks remain, with infrastructure constraints still the most pressing challenge. In 2024, only 19 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s trade was intra-regional, compared to a global average of around 50.7 percent.
At the same time, the region’s trade flows traversed an average distance of 7,074 kilometres, well above the global average of 5,000 kilometres. This means African businesses are shipping goods further than necessary. They’re incurring higher costs and longer transit times simply because the infrastructure and trade facilitation mechanisms to support regional commerce remain underdeveloped.
Port efficiency represents another critical bottleneck. Durban and Cape Town, South Africa’s busiest ports, handle the bulk of the country’s maritime trade. Yet they continue to face capacity and efficiency challenges that ripple throughout regional supply chains. The planned port improvements scheduled for 2026 can’t come soon enough. These gateways are essential to making South African trade, and by extension, regional trade, more competitive globally.
Customs procedures and regulatory harmonisation also require urgent attention. While AfCFTA represents a transformative policy framework, implementation on the ground remains uneven. For businesses seeking to trade across African borders, navigating different customs regimes, documentation requirements, and regulatory standards adds complexity and cost that undermines the region’s competitiveness.
From bottlenecks to breakthroughs
The good news is that these challenges are increasingly recognised and actively addressed. Growing investor confidence suggests that businesses can overcome these bottlenecks. We’re seeing increased commitments from logistics companies to expand infrastructure, improve connectivity, and build capacity where it’s needed most. DHL Group’s recent commitment of over €300 million to accelerate trade growth across Africa is a clear example of this trend.
The AfCFTA’s duty-free trading rules, which South African businesses can increasingly leverage, also represent a significant opportunity. As these mechanisms mature and become more widely utilised, we should see intra-regional trade volumes begin to catch up with other global regions. East, West and Southern African sub-regions are already showing promising developments in trade among neighbouring countries.
Long-distance trade will always play a role in Africa’s economic narrative. The continent produces commodities and goods that global markets need. However, building stronger regional trade linkages will create more resilient, diversified economies that can better weather external shocks. It’ll also reduce the average distance goods must travel, cutting costs and carbon emissions simultaneously.
A long-term growth story
Sub-Saharan Africa’s trade trajectory is encouraging, but it requires sustained commitment and strategic investment. The fundamentals are sound: growing populations, increasing urbanisation, improving governance and expanding digital connectivity. What’s needed now is continued focus on practical infrastructure and policy improvements to fully realise the region’s trade potential.
For businesses and investors willing to take a long-term view, Sub-Saharan Africa’s trade growth story is just beginning. The region that led the world in trade growth in early 2025 has every reason to maintain that momentum, provided we collectively address the bottlenecks that still hold it back.
