Africa loses $5 billion annually to forex transactions – AfCFTA Secretariat

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has revealed that Africa loses about $5 billion each year through foreign exchange transactions, a challenge that continues to increase the cost of doing business across the continent.

According to the Secretariat, these losses have become a major obstacle to Africa’s economic growth and competitiveness.

Speaking at the 2nd International Conference on Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) and Sustainable Development of Africa (ICESDA 2025) in Accra, Dr. Tsotetsi Makong, Director for Coordination and Programmes at AfCFTA, said the Secretariat has also identified similar losses in digital transactions and is working on measures to address them.

Dr. Makong emphasised the need for African nations to combine their resources to attract large-scale investments, noting that no single country can achieve sustainable development on its own.

“We’ve been fragmented by artificial borders, no one will make huge investments in Ghana alone because the market is too small. But when we bring countries like Nigeria, Togo, and Ghana together under one market through AfCFTA, we create bigger opportunities for investment,” he said.

He added that African countries must unite to achieve meaningful progress.

“Individually, no country can advance, regardless of national visions or plans. Our markets are too small to justify major investments. To attract the investments we need, we must work together as one continent,” Dr. Makong stressed.