Afreximbank has launched its first-ever Accelerator Programme, selecting eight startups from over 1,600 applicants and offering each up to $250,000 in funding to scale solutions enabling intra-African trade.
“Today, we move from promise to execution… You are building the digital rails that will define how Africa trades in the 21st century,” said Haytham Elmaayergi, Executive Vice President, Global Trade Bank at Afreximbank.
The programme kicked off in Cairo, Egypt, between March 23 and 27, 2026, bringing together startups from across Africa and the diaspora for an intensive week of mentorship, strategic sessions, and engagement with Afreximbank’s leadership, including its President, Dr. George Elombi.
At its core, the initiative signals a shift from policy-driven trade ambitions to execution through technology—backing startups building the infrastructure needed to make cross-border trade across Africa faster, cheaper, and more scalable.
The Problem With Intra-African trade
Despite the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), intra-African trade remains one of the lowest globally, accounting for roughly 15–18% of total trade on the continent. This is significantly below levels in Europe (over 60%) and Asia (around 50%).
The barriers are deeply structural: fragmented payment systems, inefficient logistics networks, regulatory inconsistencies, and limited access to trade finance. Businesses moving goods across African borders often face high transaction costs, currency conversion hurdles, and delays that make regional trade uncompetitive.
For startups and SMEs—the backbone of African economies—these inefficiencies limit their ability to scale beyond domestic markets. Even where demand exists across borders, the infrastructure to support seamless trade often does not.
The Solution Afreximbank’s Accelerator Programme is Offering
Afreximbank’s Accelerator Programme is designed to directly tackle these bottlenecks by supporting startups building core digital infrastructure for trade.
The selected startups operate across key areas: cross-border payments, digital logistics, supply chain finance, agri-export platforms, AI-driven enterprise tools, and diaspora investment platforms. Collectively, they already demonstrate traction across multiple African markets.
For instance, Capsa Technologies, based in Nigeria, has processed over ₦70 billion in supply chain finance, while Fluna has facilitated more than $50 million in trade across 10 countries. OnePort 365 connects trade routes between Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, and Timon supports payments across 15 countries with plans to scale to 40.
Beyond funding, the programme provides access to Afreximbank’s extensive network of governments, regulators, and financial institutions. Startups will also integrate into key continental infrastructure such as the Pan-African Payments and Settlement System (PAPSS) and the Africa Trade Gateway (ATG), helping them navigate compliance, licensing, and market entry across borders.
This combination of capital, partnerships, and infrastructure support positions the startups to scale faster and operate across multiple jurisdictions, something traditionally difficult in Africa’s fragmented markets.
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Why Afreximbank’s Accelerator Programme Matters
If successful, the programme could accelerate the development of a unified digital trade layer across Africa—one that reduces friction and unlocks new economic activity.
Improved cross-border payments alone could save African businesses billions in transaction costs annually, while more efficient logistics and financing systems could significantly boost SME participation in regional trade.
For countries like Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana, where several of the selected startups operate, this could translate into increased export activity, stronger regional supply chains, and job creation across sectors such as logistics, fintech, and agriculture.
More broadly, enabling startups to scale continent-wide supports AfCFTA’s long-term goal: transforming Africa into a single, integrated market of over 1.3 billion people.
By backing these ventures with up to $250,000 each and embedding them into its trade ecosystem, Afreximbank is positioning itself, and the startups it supports, at the centre of Africa’s next phase of economic integration.