What's actually slowing intra-African trade
Tariff reform gets the policy attention. Members who actually move goods across borders point to a different, more mundane set of obstacles.
Continental trade agreements have made meaningful progress on tariff reduction, yet operators moving physical goods across African borders consistently point to non-tariff barriers as the more binding constraint: documentation requirements that differ by border post, inconsistent enforcement, and the working-capital cost of goods sitting in transit.
Where the friction actually lives
Customs documentation standards vary enough between neighbouring countries that many exporters maintain separate compliance processes for each border, even where a trade agreement technically harmonises requirements on paper. The gap between the policy on the books and the practice at the border post is where most delay accumulates.
Reasons for optimism
Digitised, single-window customs systems are gradually reducing this gap in the markets that have invested in them, and regional logistics operators are increasingly structuring services around the corridors where that digitisation is furthest along. It is slow, unglamorous work — but it is the kind of reform that compounds.
This briefing draws on the experience of members working in logistics, trade finance and policy roles across several African markets.