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Highlights of the report
The unmet demand for trade finance in Africa ranged from $74 billion to $92 billion in 2024. The estimated gap of $ 74 billion represents 5.4% of the region's total merchandise trade value in 2024.
African trade remains underserved by commercial banks. Over the five years of the study, commercial banks intermediated an average of 23% of Africa's total trade, down from 40% during 2011-19.
Between 2020 and 2024, intra-African trade accounted for 34% of total bank-intermediated trade, representing an 89 percent increase above pre-pandemic levels (2011-2019).
Foreign exchange liquidity shortages have become the primary barrier limiting banks' growth in trade finance. About 36% of banks cited limited foreign exchange liquidity as the primary constraint to their trade finance growth between 2020 and 2024, compared with 18% in the 2015-2019 period.
The adoption of digital trade finance solutions by banks remains low, primarily due to high implementation costs and inadequate technological infrastructure. Only 28% of the banks surveyed reported having adopted digital tools or platforms for their trade finance operations.
