At the 8th African Union Summit, President Bola Tinubu was commended for implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area Digital Trade Protocol.
According to a statement from the trade and industry ministry, a former President of the Republic of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, lauded President Tinubu’s efforts during his presentation of an annual report highlighting the protocol’s achievements, notably its eight completed annexes.
Issofou hailed the Tinubu administration’s efforts, including a High-level Roundtable on Nigeria’s AfCFTA implementation held in Abuja on January 16, 2025, by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.
The statement read: “In his address, (former) President Issoufou commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR and the Federal Republic of Nigeria for taking steps towards implementation, including organising a round table highlighting the Protocol.
“In January 2025, Nigeria hosted the AfCFTA Secretary-General and convened a roundtable on trade in goods and services, featuring leading Nigerian FinTech innovators such as CcHUB, Norebase, Helium Health, Renda, Vendease and Bamboo. These companies shared their tech-driven business solutions, demonstrating Nigeria’s pioneering role in digital trade expansion across Africa.”
President Tinubu’s call for collaboration on digital trade with other African countries was also recognised, as the statement added, “In December 2024 during his address in Cape Town, South Africa, President Tinubu expressed his willingness to collaborate with other African countries on the digital trade agenda for the benefit of all Africans.
“This recognition further reinforces Nigeria’s role as a key driver in shaping Africa’s digital economy under the AfCFTA framework.”
The AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol is an agreement between AfCFTA member states to build a seamless and secure digital commerce system by harmonising digital trade regulations across the continent. It was officially adopted during the 37th African Union Heads of State Summit held on February 17–18, 2024.
A minimum of 22 member states need to ratify the protocol for it to take effect. After ratification, these states will have up to five years to put its provisions into practice, covering areas such as data governance, cybersecurity, and digital payments.
The eight annexes of the AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade cover the following areas: rules of origin for digital products to determine the origin of digital products, digital identities guidelines for the recognition and interoperability of digital identities across member states and cross-border digital payments guidelines to enable efficient and secure promoting financial inclusion and easing digital trade.
Other areas under the annexes are rules on cross-border data transfers, disclosure of source code, cybersecurity, a framework for cooperation and a framework for regulation and promotion of financial technologies.
Ministers of Justice during the 10th Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs adopted the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol annexes.