Promoting trade in services and strengthening financial services value chains in Africa

Addis Ababa, 18 September 2025 (ECA) - A "Multi-stakeholder Conference for Peer-Learning and Experience Sharing: Promoting Trade in Services and Strengthening the Financial Services Value Chains in Africa" opened on Wednesday, 17 September 2025, in Addis Ababa. The conference brought together African policymakers and technical experts around the shared goal of bolstering the continent's service sectors and regional integration.

Convened by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the conference brought together policymakers and technical experts from fifteen countries-Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Djibouti, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo, and Tunisia.

The event underscored a critical moment in Africa's economic transformation, centered on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as "one of the most important milestones in Africa's integration efforts" and a key pathway to achieving the continental vision set out in the Abuja Treaty and Agenda 2063.

Besides financial services, the conference discussed regional and global value chains in the tourism and transport services sectors.

Against a backdrop of rapidly evolving global and regional value chains, African economies are working to overcome persistent obstacles-including informality, skills gaps, and limited productive capacity-to unlock new sources of value and competitiveness. This conference serves as a vital forum for sharing experiences and best practices, with a particular emphasis on developing regional value chains in financial services, a sector pivotal for economic growth and job creation.

The conference serves as a vital forum for participants to share experiences and best practices related to the development of the services sector, with a particular emphasis on financial services regional value chains, a sector recognized as pivotal for economic growth and job creation across Africa.

After a cohort of six pilot countries across different areas, the event builds upon recent activities, including technical training for trainers, data collection, and development of national action plans for Burkina Faso and Burundi as the most recent beneficiary countries, in the framework of the implementation of the AfCFTA's Protocol on Trade in Services and strengthen Africa's regional value chains.

Building on recent activities-such as technical training, data collection, and the development of national action plans for countries including Burkina Faso and Burundi-the event supports the implementation of the AfCFTA's Protocol on Trade in Services.

Over two days, participants focused on the following key issues:

• Showcasing national experiences in quantifying and promoting value addition in financial services

• Addressing data gaps hampering effective policymaking in services

• Discussing options for unlocking sectors' potential and supporting inclusive, sustainable growth within the AfCFTA framework.

Delegations from Burkina Faso and Burundi emphasized the importance of the ECA's technical assistance, noting that it has already catalyzed actionable plans and policy reforms. Burkina Faso presented a policy action plan for integrating its financial services into regional and global value chains, while Burundi highlighted the project's role in supporting inclusive development and digital transformation.

Through the technical assistance provided by ECA, participants enhanced capabilities to address data gaps, apply lessons from financial services value chain quantification to other sectors and countries, and utilize new tools to support evidence-based policymaking for services value chains.

The gathering advanced knowledge-sharing and reinforced collaboration among African countries and international partners. It also laid the groundwork for a new cohort of countries to receive similar technical assistance in the near future, fostering a thriving and integrated services economy across the continent.

Issued by: Communications Section Economic Commission for Africa PO Box 3001 Addis Ababa Ethiopia Tel: +251 11 551 5826 E-mail: [email protected]