Nigeria, Kenya and Morocco have been selected as the first countries to implement a major digital public infrastructure programme under the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat.

The initiative, known as the Africa Digital Access and Public Infrastructure for Trade initiative, aims to establish interoperable digital systems that will support seamless trade across the continent.

The programme is designed to create shared digital rails for identity management, payments and trusted data exchange, helping to reduce trade barriers and strengthen intra-African commerce under the AfCFTA framework.

The three countries emerged through a two-stage evaluation process that assessed political commitment, technical capacity, regulatory alignment, private-sector participation and the maturity of national digital systems.

Speaking on the initiative, Dominik Schiener said Africa had the opportunity to move beyond fragmented and paper-based trade systems by building a trusted digital infrastructure for future commerce.

“ADAPT is not only digitizing processes, but it is also creating a shared, interoperable foundation where trade data can be trusted, verified, and exchanged securely across borders,” he said.

Launched in November 2025, the ADAPT initiative seeks to provide the digital backbone for what is regarded as the world’s largest free-trade area by population, with expectations that it will unlock new business opportunities and significantly boost intra-African trade.

Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, said the full implementation of AfCFTA could increase intra-African exports by more than 80 per cent and generate up to $450bn by 2035.

According to him, interoperable digital systems would help micro, small and medium enterprises, particularly businesses led by women and youths, gain greater access to regional and global markets.

The initiative will integrate digital identity systems, interoperability frameworks, seamless data exchange and modern payment infrastructure while tackling long-standing challenges such as fragmented systems, paperwork bottlenecks and poor cross-border interoperability.

ADAPT is being developed by the AfCFTA Secretariat in partnership with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, IOTA Foundation and the World Economic Forum, and is built on the interoperable digital trade infrastructure known as TWIN.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair described AfCFTA as a vision capable of creating the world’s largest free-trade area, while digital trade protocols would provide the rules needed to support that transformation.

Implementation will now begin in the three pilot countries, with initial efforts focused on live cross-border data exchange, digitisation of trade documentation and faster, more secure transactions for businesses operating within Africa.

The rollout phase will also include the establishment of national implementation forums, integration of digital identity and payment systems, and the testing of regulatory frameworks, including those related to digital currencies and stablecoins.

Officials say lessons from the pilot phase in Nigeria, Kenya and Morocco will guide the gradual expansion of the programme to more African countries in the coming years.