75% of Africa’s cargo delays caused by trade bottlenecks, not infrastructure

The majority of delays affecting the movement of goods across Africa are caused by customs and trade-facilitation bottlenecks, not a lack of physical infrastructure, according to African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

Delivering the keynote address at the inaugural Customs Partnership for African Cooperation in Trade (Customs PACT), Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President for Intra-African Trade and Export Development at Afreximbank, said West Africa’s current interstate transit system is bogged down by bureaucracy and inefficiency.

A major challenge, she noted, is the absence of a regional transit guarantee system—forcing customs to physically escort goods in transit, raising costs and slowing movement.

Awani urged Nigeria to take the lead in implementing the new ECOWAS transit regulation, which provides for a regional transit guarantee. A functioning system, she said, would allow traders to use a single transit bond across multiple countries, eliminating the need for several national guarantees and easing cross-border movement.

She explained that Afreximbank is implementing a US$1-billion African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme to address persistent transit challenges and protect customs revenue.

The scheme is already running in COMESA and the East African Community through a US$300-million facility with ZEP-RE, a Nairobi-based reinsurer. When rolled out continent-wide, it is expected to save at least US$300 million annually in transit costs.

Awani highlighted Afreximbank’s role in supporting modern border infrastructure, including upgrades at the Beitbridge post between South Africa and Zimbabwe—where clearance times dropped from 3–5 days to as little as 3–5 hours after improvements backed by the Bank and partners.

Despite these gains, she warned that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will not deliver its promises without resolving customs and trade-facilitation constraints.

Citing data from AUDA-NEPAD, Awani said 75% of cargo delays arise from trade bottlenecks, with only 25% due to infrastructure gaps. Other problems include non-harmonised customs systems and weak interoperability across borders.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in a message to the forum, said the Customs PACT aligns with Nigeria’s goal of strengthening regional trade and improving competitiveness.

The roundtable was organised by the Nigeria Customs Service in collaboration with Afreximbank, the AfCFTA Secretariat and the World Customs Organization.