Only 20% of African SMEs Engage in Export Trade – Veep

Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has raised concerns over the limited participation of African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in cross-border trade, revealing that only about 20 percent of businesses on the continent engage in export activities.

Speaking at the opening session of the African Prosperity Dialogues 2026 on Wednesday, February 4, the Vice President highlighted the low involvement of women and youth in regional trade, despite their increasing role in innovation, entrepreneurship, and the digital economy.

She attributed the weak export orientation of African SMEs to structural and financial hurdles, including limited access to affordable financing, insufficient market linkages, regulatory bottlenecks, and weak institutional support, all of which prevent businesses from scaling beyond domestic markets.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang stressed that the low export rate has serious macroeconomic implications, reinforcing Africa’s reliance on raw material exports, limiting value addition, and constraining job creation across the continent.

“Our youth account for more than 60 percent of our population. Across Africa, they are driving technology and innovation from fintech to creative industries. Yet fewer than 20 percent of SMEs participate in export trade,” she said.

The Vice President also noted that women entrepreneurs face unequal barriers to finance, mobility, and market access, while many young innovators lack the capital, skills, market pathways, and institutional backing needed to expand across borders.

She warned that without targeted policy reforms, African economies risk remaining trapped in low-productivity growth models characterized by exporting primary commodities, importing finished goods, and losing skilled talent to migration.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang called for coordinated interventions to improve access to finance, enhance export readiness, reduce non-tariff barriers, and strengthen regional trade infrastructure particularly for women- and youth-led enterprises.

She concluded that empowering SMEs to participate meaningfully in export trade is critical for diversifying African economies, deepening value chains, and turning the continent’s demographic advantage into sustained economic growth.