… says Africa, Caribbean SMEs hold export potential if barriers fall
The International Trade Centre (ITC) has urged Africa and the Caribbean to deepen trade and investment ties, warning that global economic shocks are eroding traditional markets and leaving small economies vulnerable.
Pamela Coke-Hamilton, ITC Executive Director, said the two regions could unlock up to $2.1 billion in new export potential within the next five years if they address trade barriers, build value-added capabilities, and improve connectivity.
She spoke at the Unstoppable Africa side event held on the margins of the 80th UN General Assembly in New York.
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“For Africa and the Caribbean, there is $2.1 billion of export potential on the table within the next five years if trade barriers are tackled and key investments made in priority sectors such as minerals, processed food, manufactured products, transport, travel, and the creative industries.
“These sectors speak to our region’s strengths, our heritage, and our cultural touchstones. But we won’t see their full economic benefits unless we build value addition capabilities at home, especially for SMEs,”
Coke-Hamilton noted that 2025 had brought severe challenges, including sweeping cuts to official development assistance (ODA) and escalating tariffs that disrupted long-standing trade preferences.
She pointed to the case of Lesotho, where sudden tariff shifts threatened an entire export sector, as a cautionary example of how fragile global trade conditions have become.
The ITC boss highlighted the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a landmark agreement capable of transforming African trade, but stressed that more work is needed to address logistics bottlenecks, infrastructure gaps, and lack of awareness among small businesses.
She added that value addition in sectors such as minerals, processed foods, manufactured goods, transport, travel, and the creative industries would be key to driving sustainable growth.
“The AfCFTA is one of the most important trade agreements in modern history—period. A tour de force in trade policymaking, a development-focused agreement that is also a living document, one designed to develop and improve over time.
“But there is far more work that needs to happen to cement the advances towards economic integration already made within and across the RECs and truly achieve an integrated African market.
“To tackle logistical inefficiencies, infrastructure gaps, and worse still, knowledge gaps—with too many SMEs across the continent still unaware that the AfCFTA exists, nor what it has to offer and how to use it. And to build value-added activities and capabilities in the sectors that hold the jobs of the future, and that will be a defining aspect of the AfCFTA’s legacy,” she said in a statement on the centre’s X handle.
According to her, While air and maritime transport links remain limited, efforts are underway to bridge the gap between the regions. She noted that the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum, hosted in July this year in Grenada by Afreximbank and the Government of Grenada, brought SMEs from across Africa and the Caribbean together to explore concrete trade opportunities.
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Similarly, AU–CARICOM Summits and private-sector initiatives such as the Africa Caribbean Business Council are fostering closer economic cooperation.
Coke-Hamilton emphasised that building resilient prosperity for small economies is still possible despite current global uncertainties. “Resilient prosperity can still be brought within reach for SMEs in the Caribbean, across the African market, and throughout the global South. But whether we succeed will depend on the partnerships we forge, and our ability to chart our own path forward.”
