Nigeria is all set and ready to host the 2nd Edition of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Trade Forum 2026 scheduled for June, 2026 in Lagos State Nigeria.
Remember, Nigeria won the hosting rights for the second edition of the AfCFTA Digital Forum in May 2025 and also secured the bid to host the 2026 meeting of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers. Together, these platforms will provide opportunities to showcase Nigerian trade capabilities and influence continental trade policy.
The forum, scheduled for June 2026, in Lagos, will bring together policymakers, tech innovators, and civil society. It is expected that 500 to 600 high-level delegates comprising innovators, global institutions, sovereign wealth funds, development finance institutions, multilateral institutions, structured finance specialists, trade networks across the Commonwealth, and senior public officials will be in Lagos State to share perspectives that will ease the movement of conversations into measurable outcomes and advance Digital Trade in Africa.
The digital trade sector in recent times has emerged as a focal point of Nigeria’s AfCFTA strategy. The 2026 Digital Trade Forum aims to address the critical need for connecting all citizens, ensuring the affordability of digital technologies, and increasing investment in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to bridge the widening digital divide.
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Trade Forum 1st Edition 2025
The inaugural African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Trade Forum event 2025 took place in Lusaka Zambia on the 8th day of May 2025.
The 2025 inaugural African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Trade & Services Forum marked a significant milestone in Africa’s economic development journey.
The masterclasses, focused on unlocking Africa’s digital trade potential, empowered entrepreneurs to build and scale online businesses.
Through the Protocol on Digital Trade, the AfCFTA is enabling seamless market access across Africa’s $3.4 trillion GDP, advancing cross-border data flows, digital payments, consumer protection, and harmonized regulation to fuel innovation and inclusive growth.
Sessions on e-commerce, led by Google Hustle Academy, explored digital business models in music, film, and tourism, revealing how creatives can grow their potential.
Industry experts from renowned institutions, including Better Than Cash Alliance, ODI, ITC, and UNDP, discussed several areas of digital trading, including monetizing digital platforms, responsible digital payments for Micro, Small and. Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), assessing the economic impact of the digital trade protocol, and enabling SMEs to trade digitally across borders.
Nigeria Already Making Giant Strides in Digital Trade Advancements
The Federal Government, yesterday, claimed that Nigeria has emerged a pacesetter in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA), recording a series of groundbreaking achievements in 2025 that position the country as a leader in continental trade cooperation.
This comes as The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, conducted the first-ever national mapping of digital services in April 2025, generating a directory of over 200 digital service firms operating in 17 distinct sectors. These firms have expressed willingness to explore the African market, with Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa identified as priority destinations.
The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has also developed a trade intelligence platform to serve as a digital public infrastructure repository of market insights from governments, trade associations and consumers. Investment mobilization efforts with foreign and domestic investors will prioritize exponential increases in productive capacity in key sectors to position Nigeria as the innovation, production and distribution hub of the AfCFTA market.
In Line with the countries advancements in Digital Trade, Nigeria also won hosting rights for the second edition of the AfCFTA Digital Forum in May 2025 and secured the bid to host the 2026 meeting of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers. These platforms will provide opportunities to showcase Nigerian trade capabilities and influence continental trade policy.
The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, under Dr Jumoke Oduwole, has also orchestrated a comprehensive reinvigoration of Nigeria’s engagement with the AfCFTA framework, securing multiple firsts and strategic recognition’s that underscore the country’s commitment to trade-led regional integration.
The AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol (DTP) Guidelines on Integrating Data Provisions in Digital Trade Protocols
The AfCFTA has developed and established African Guidelines on Integrating Data Provisions in Digital Trade Protocols are part of the broader framework established by the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol (DTP), which aims to facilitate digital trade across African Union member states. These guidelines focus on harmonizing data governance practices to ensure that digital trade is secure, inclusive, and beneficial for all African nations.
The general objective of this Protocol is to support the attainment of the objectives of the AfCFTA, stipulated in Article 3 of the AfCFTA Agreement, by establishing harmonized rules and common principles and standards that enable and support digital trade for sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development and the digital transformation of the continent.
The specific objectives of this Protocol are to:
a. promote and facilitate intra-African digital trade by eliminating barriers to digital trade among State Parties;
b. establish predictable and transparent harmonized rules, and common principles and standards for digital trade;
c. create a transparent, predictable, secure, and trustworthy digital trade ecosystem for businesses and consumers;
d. enhance cooperation among State Parties on matters related to digital trade;
e. promote common and open standards to enable the interoperability of frameworks and systems to facilitate cross-border digital trade;
f. encourage trusted, safe, ethical, and responsible adoption and regulation of the use of emerging and advanced technologies to support and promote digital trade;
g. promote digital skills development, digital innovation and entrepreneurship, digital industrialization, and digital infrastructure development to facilitate the digital transformation of State Parties; and
h. provide a common legal framework for digital trade among State Parties.
AfCFTA Digital Trade Forum Lagos Nigeria 2026
Speaking yesterday at the Africa CEO Forum Presidential Panel in Kigali, Rwanda, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu emphasized that Africa must put Africa first whilst creating opportunities for intra-Africa collaboration between our countries.
President Bola Tinubu said “Nigeria is proud to host the AfCFTA Council of Ministers and Digital Trade Forum in June. We also look forward to welcoming the continent and the world for IATF and CANEX from November 5 to 11, 2026, and again in November 2027”.
He added. “Our continent cannot build scale by looking outward first. We must invest in one another, trade more with one another, build the corridors that connect our markets, ensure our innovative youthful population get the support they need, and give African businesses the confidence to expand across African borders”.
“Nigeria’s reforms are not only about fixing yesterday. They are about preparing our economy to lead in the Africa of tomorrow. With AfCFTA, digital trade, shared infrastructure, stronger logistics, commodities exchange, and deeper private sector partnerships, we can turn Africa’s population and resources into real continental prosperity. The global risk and financial architecture must also give Africa a fair deal that recognizes our local nuances and contexts”.
“This forum will move conversation into measurable outcomes. In fact, the summit will spotlight key sectors including technology, infrastructure, healthcare, transportation, energy, environment, and the creative economy “, he added.
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