African businesses expect their cross-border transaction activities to increase significantly over the next 12 months despite challenges in implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area, according to a report by the Pan African Private Sector Trade and Investment Committee (PAFTRAC).

According to PAFTRAC, its ‘Africa CEO Trade Survey,’ presented recently at the World Trade Organisation Public Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, found that 81.3 per cent of senior executives surveyed expect their cross-border economic activity to increase over the next 12 months.

A total of 2,500 business leaders were surveyed for the study, with four in five respondents saying they expect the increase. Now in its sixth year, the PAFTRAC survey started with 400 respondents in 2021 and the number grew steadily to 2,500 participants in 2026.

“African Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) express optimism, but credit risk and policy gaps hinder intra-African trade. PAFTRAC’s survey of 2,500 business leaders reveals that four in five expect their cross-border activity to increase over the next twelve months, despite AfCFTA implementation hurdles and financing constraints,” the group said on Tuesday.

It added, “The survey, now in its sixth year and expanded from 400 respondents in 2021 to over 2,500 in 2026, is the most robust barometer of African executive sentiment on trade available. Its findings point to a continent where the appetite for regional integration is outpacing the systems designed to enable it.”

Despite the optimistic outlook, PAFTRAC said access to finance remains a key challenge for African countries, noting that sovereign and institutional borrowers across the continent continue to receive risk assessments from Western credit agencies that, according to IFC estimates cited by the committee, add about $31 billion in extra borrowing costs each year.

“A total of 57 per cent of the executives surveyed described access to trade finance for cross-border transactions as difficult or very difficult. The IFC estimates Africa’s SME financing gap at more than $331 billion,” PAFTRAC stated. 

Commenting on the report, Chairperson of PAFTRAC, Patrick Utomi, described perception of Africa by Western credit agencies as a “prejudice premium.”

He added, “When capital is priced so that an economy actively at war receives more competitive financing than a stable, peaceful African sovereign, the system is misreading reality. Outdated global rules and subjective rating methodologies are imposing a direct tax on African trade.”