Nigeria, June 2 -- On Sunday 17 May, we flew from Lagos and landed in Lome, the capital of Togo in the West African sub-region for the third edition of Biashara Afrika, the premier continental business forum that brings together African heads of state, ministers, policy makers, SMEs, investors, and entrepreneurs to accelerate the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) implementation, and explore intra-African trade collaborations.

Hosted by the government of the Togolese Republic and the AfCFTA Secretariat, Biashara Afrika 2026 doubled as both a trade and investment forum, and the platform for several policy and partnership announcements. By the way, the name "Biashara" - Kiswahili for "trade" or "business" - reflects the...