Zenpay Limited has signed an agreement with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat for the development and deployment of the SMARTAfCFTA portal to facilitate trade within the African continent.
The chairman of Zenpay, Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu and the secretary-general of the AfCFTA secretariat, Mr Wamkele Mene, signed the deal at Zenith Bank headquarters in Lagos recently.
Zenpay said in a statement that the agreement was a follow-up to the memorandum of understanding signed by both parties during the 8th annual edition of zenith bank’s international trade seminar on non-oil export held in 2023.
Speaking during the signing of the agreement, Onyeagwu expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration, highlighting its significance given the current understanding of trade flows in Africa.
“In Africa, intra-African trade constitutes only about 20% of total trade, with the rest going overseas, despite Africans making up 18% of the world population but contributing less than 5% to global GDP. By trading within Africa, we anticipate building prosperity across the continent.
“This initiative is not driven by profit but by the need to support the African Continental Free Trade Area. It aims to create a unified African market, enhancing economic integration and standardising customs and practices. As we advance this agenda, we expect to see significant growth and improvement in intra-Africa trade,” he said.
In his speech, Mene, said: “Four years ago, we discussed and envisioned SMARTAfCFTA as a digital platform to empower SMEs and young entrepreneurs in Africa, facilitating their inclusion in trade and boosting intra-African trade.
“This platform will serve as a repository for crucial trade data, offering insights on rules of origin and market intelligence, thus playing a pivotal role in implementing the AfCFTA agreement.
“Today is a testament that working together with our African partners in this case, Zenith bank, shows that their commitment goes beyond their profit margins to their stakeholders, but are motivated by our shared duty towards the Continent.”
On the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) alongside the SMARTAfCFTA portal, Mene described PAPSS as “Africa’s payment highway.”
He explained that unlike PAPSS, SMARTAfCFTA is not a payment platform itself but will be interoperable with PAPSS, allowing functionalities that facilitate easy payments.
He emphasised that two platforms complement each other, stressing that they are not in competition.
“We promote and encourage only one payment platform—PAPSS. Our goal is to integrate the digital ecosystem we are developing into PAPSS. We are committed to fostering innovation within this framework, ensuring it supports a seamless continental payment system without creating competition among platforms.”
SMARTAfCFTA is a digital platform designed to facilitate international trade by providing the necessary information and tools to the African private and public sectors.
The portal aims to streamline and unlock vast opportunities for trade across the African continent, and has the capacity to provide information like trade indicators, market trends, custom tariffs, trade agreements, Rules of Origin, market access requirements of relevant jurisdictions, export potentials, export diversification indicators and contact details of business partners in target markets and other trade-related information about Africa.
Zenpay Ltd is a private limited liability company wholly owned by Zenith Bank Plc.
The company is a one-stop revolutionary financial technology (fintech) company responsible for digital innovation and payments.
