African businesses must respond to uneven economic recovery, persistent foreign exchange volatility, and infrastructure gaps by embedding resilience, regional thinking, and productivity into their growth strategies, speakers said during a high‑level panel session at the Nigeria Business Summit 2026, organised by Stanbic IBTC.
The panel, held as part of the two‑day summit, brought together policymakers, financiers, and business leaders from across the continent to examine how African enterprises can translate the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) into practical outcomes, despite global uncertainty.
Setting the tone, Muyiwa Oni, Regional Head, Equity Research, West Africa at Standard Bank, said African economies are emerging from global shocks at different speeds; making uniform strategies ineffective.
“Different countries go through economic cycles at different times,” he said. “For pan‑African businesses, it is critical to understand the economic cycle each country is in, because that drives how you allocate resources and make investment decisions.”
Oni emphasised that businesses must look beyond headline growth numbers and focus on sectors specific growth, inflation trends, FX conditions, and government policy when planning expansion across borders.
Mrs Folasade Aluko, Principal Manager, Business Development at NEXIM Bank, expressed that the clearest indicator of Africa’s progress lies in the pace of trade within the continent.
“The pace of intra‑African trade under AfCFTA tells us whether Africa is truly integrating its markets or still exporting raw materials to the rest of the world,” she said.
Aluko added that rising intra‑African trade would signal stronger regional value chains, increased value addition, and reduced exposure to external shocks. “This figure is really a test of Africa’s competitiveness and industrialisation,” she noted.
According to Ojinika Shote, Head, Sales, Corporate & Investment Banking at Stanbic IBTC, tangible opportunities are already visible across several sectors.
“There are strong opportunities in light manufacturing, agribusiness value chains, and digital and services trade,” she said, pointing to post‑pandemic recovery, improved foreign exchange availability, and enabling payment infrastructure.
She highlighted systems such as the Pan‑African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) as critical in reducing transaction costs and allowing African businesses to trade more easily in local currencies.
Despite digital improvements, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, Chairman of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, warned that physical infrastructure remains the largest bottleneck to trade efficiency.
“Ports determine volume, but digital networks determine speed,” he said. “What we are missing is transport infrastructure that allows goods to move seamlessly across Africa.”
Ashiru argued that without sustained investment in rail and transport corridors, AFCFTA will not deliver its full potential.
The discussion also examined barriers limiting SME participation in regional trade. Ifeoma Abdul, Head, Trade Business & Commercial Banking at Stanbic IBTC, said while SMEs make up over 90 per cent of businesses, access to finance remains a major challenge.
She stressed the importance of de‑risking SME lending, expanding supply‑chain finance and invoice discounting, and enabling local‑currency settlement to reduce foreign exchange exposure.
Aluko reinforced that capital alone is insufficient. “Export readiness is about strong systems, compliance, and capability,” she said, emphasising the need for structured capacity building and digital trade integration.
On foreign exchangestrategy (FX), Shote cautioned businesses against treating volatility as a one‑off event. “FX risk management must be embedded into core business strategy,” she said, citing backward integration, localisation of inputs, export diversification, and hedging as essential tools.
The panelists also framed recent geopolitical tensions disrupting shipping routes as a wake‑up call, emphasising that Africa must trade more with itself and reduce dependence on external routes and that energy diversification, renewables, and strategic reserves are becoming critical for resilience.
Across the session, speakers agreed that African businesses must move decisively to deepen regional integration, strengthen value chains, invest in productivity, and manage risk proactively.
Within this context, solutions that combine trade finance, FX risk management, cross‑border payments, market access, and enterprise capability development are becoming central to execution. As highlighted during the summit, Stanbic IBTC plays an enabling role by supporting businesses across these areas as they move from local operations to a regional scale.
Businesses looking to strengthen supply chains, manage FX exposure, or expand into regional and continental markets can engage with Stanbic IBTC Bank to explore practical solutions aligned with their intra‑African trade ambitions.
