By Aliyu Galadima
United Bank for Africa ,UBA, Plc has called on African nations to intensify efforts toward strengthening intra-African trade, as rising global tariffs and stalled international negotiations pose new challenges to the continent’s economic stability.
Speaking during the launch of the Nigeria-Ghana corridor of UBA’s cross-border payment partnership with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System ,PAPSS, Chief Executive Officer of UBA, Oliver Alawuba, emphasised that the time has come for Africa to deepen regional integration and reduce reliance on Western economies. The event marked a major milestone in the effort to create a seamless and independent trade ecosystem across African markets.
“Intra-African trade is very low. This is the time for this product”, Alawuba said. “We do business with Western countries all the time, but intra-African trade has been even lower; we need to improve on that. Even the tariff regime in the world today is telling us that this is the time for us to do business with each other”.
His remarks follow recent developments on the global stage, particularly the imposition of a 14% tariff on Nigerian exports by the United States, announced by President Donald Trump in April.
Although the U.S. government granted a 90-day window for renegotiation, the talks ended without resolution. Effective August 1, the tariffs were raised to 15%, with no new bilateral trade agreements concluded between the U.S. and any African country.
These setbacks have prompted renewed calls for Africa to accelerate its own trade development agenda and leverage platforms such as the African Continental Free Trade Area ,AfCFTA, to unlock the continent’s commercial potential.
In response, UBA is investing in technological infrastructure to facilitate cross-border trade using African currencies. At the heart of this initiative is UBA’s AI-powered chatbot, LEO, which has been upgraded to support instant cross-border payments across the continent. According to Alawuba, LEO is now the first digital banking assistant in Africa to facilitate real-time remittances using local currencies.
“With this solution, all transactions are done with African currencies”, Alawuba explained. “We don’t need to pay any charges in dollars. We don’t need to put pressure on the foreign exchange market, which is a big issue around the inflation rate today in the various countries we have”.
He offered a practical example of the platform’s potential impact, saying, “The shoe exporter in Aba can export goods to people in Ghana and receive Naira, all digitally and in real time, without any border restrictions. I think this is transformational. And I think this is the future of Africa that we are building”.
The new platform leverages PAPSS, a financial market infrastructure developed by the African Export-Import Bank ,Afreximbank, and approved by central banks across participating countries. PAPSS is designed to enable seamless, multilateral net settlement across African borders, eliminating the need for foreign currency conversions and enhancing trade efficiency.
Chief Executive Officer of PAPSS, Mike Ogbalu also spoke at the launch event, describing the platform as “world-class” and capable of competing with global financial market infrastructure systems. “So, what we have built, even though we are African, is world-class”, Ogbalu said. “The PAPSS infrastructure can stand anywhere in the world”.
The collaboration between UBA and PAPSS aligns with continental efforts to promote financial inclusion, stabilize exchange markets, and provide African traders and consumers with faster, cheaper, and more reliable payment solutions.
As African economies grapple with external shocks, inflationary pressures, and a volatile global trade environment, stakeholders like UBA are positioning digital innovation and regional partnerships as the foundation for a more self-reliant and resilient African economic future.
