Africa’s future as a hub of industrialization, innovation, and economic integration took center stage yesterday, Thursday at the Fourth Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2025) in Algiers, with Amb. Selma Malika Haddadi, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), delivering a clarion call for the continent to believe in its own products, industries, and potential.
Speaking to a gathering of policymakers, investors, and entrepreneurs from across the continent, Amb. Haddadi underscored the critical role of intra-African trade in driving prosperity and unity.
“We cannot ask the world to believe in ‘Made in Africa’ if we do not believe in it ourselves,” she said. “Before you depart Algiers, commit to one partnership, remove one barrier, simplify one process, or place your trust in one African product you had not trusted before.”
Since its inception in 2018, the IATF has grown into Africa’s premier trade and investment marketplace. “From just over one thousand exhibitors and $32 billion in commitments in the first edition, to over $43 billion last year in Cairo, these fairs are bringing us closer to the aspirations of the African Union Agenda 2063: an integrated, connected, and prosperous Africa,” Haddadi said.
The theme of this year’s fair, “Boosting Intra-African Trade for a Sustainable Future: Innovation, Value Addition, and Green Industrialization,” reflects Africa’s urgent need to move beyond exporting raw materials and instead become the architects of its own industrial future. “Africa must innovate, add value, and industrialize so we no longer remain exporters of unprocessed raw materials but become architects of the very industries that will power Africa’s prosperity,” she stressed.
Amb. Haddadi highlighted key initiatives designed to promote entrepreneurship and inclusive growth. These include the Youth Start-Up Pavilion and the African Women in Processing Pavilion, which showcase the ingenuity of Africa’s next generation and empower women in industrial sectors.
The events feature masterclasses on venture capital, competitive pitching sessions, panel discussions with industry leaders, and networking opportunities with investors and policymakers.
The Deputy Chairperson also painted a stark picture of the challenges African trade faces. “The barriers to our integration are not distant or theoretical; they are systemic,” Haddadi said. She cited high trading costs with neighboring countries, fragmented infrastructure, and disconnected financial systems as factors that make intra-African trade more difficult than trading with partners overseas.
Despite these hurdles, she noted that Africa’s internal trade is steadily increasing. Between 2017 and 2023, intra-African trade expanded by 27%, approaching the USD 200 billion mark. Unlike Africa’s exports outside the continent, which are largely raw materials, intra-African trade is heavily driven by manufactured goods, making it a powerful engine for industrialization.
“Our task is to turn political will into real change,” Haddadi said. “We must rewrite our rules of trade so that they serve Africans first; build infrastructure that connects African economies; modernize financial systems; and design policies that place women and youth at the center of Africa’s transformation.
Entrepreneurship and the private sector must be supported as a dynamic force for prosperity.”
She also celebrated Africa’s growing investment potential. “In 2023, intra-African investment stocks reached approximately $76 billion, up from $19 billion in 2010, while Foreign Direct Investment from outside the continent totaled $53 billion. By harnessing homegrown dynamics, we can power our own growth,” she said, noting the crucial role of African private sector actors—from small-scale traders to large conglomerates—in broadening trading and investment opportunities within the continent.
Haddadi concluded her remarks by highlighting Algeria’s leadership and hospitality in hosting the fair. “Here in Algeria, a country that has long embodied Pan-African solidarity and ongoing efforts for economic transformation, we carry that legacy forward by making this Fourth Intra-African Trade Fair another milestone in Africa’s integration journey,” she said.
The IATF 2025 in Algiers continues to serve as a strategic platform for advancing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), promoting value creation, and strengthening unity across the continent, reaffirming the AU’s vision of an integrated, industrialized, and self-reliant Africa.
