TradeRoots Africa: A New B20 Legacy Initiative to Get African SMEs Export-Ready
ICC Kenya is part of a continent-wide rollout of TradeRoots Africa, a new flagship programme led by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) designed to equip African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with the skills, tools, and networks to trade successfully under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Closing Africa’s SME export gap
The numbers behind TradeRoots Africa make the case for the programme. AfCFTA covers 55 countries, 1.4 billion people, and a combined GDP of USD 3.4 trillion — yet SMEs, which make up 90% of businesses and 70% of employment across the continent, currently account for less than 20% of formal exports. The gap is driven by limited access to trade finance, low awareness of AfCFTA rules, low digital adoption, high logistical costs, and insufficient capacity to adapt products for export markets.
TradeRoots Africa was introduced as a legacy initiative from the B20 Summit in Johannesburg in November 2025 — the first time the B20 Summit was held on African soil — where it was designated an official flagship legacy initiative anchoring the B20’s institutional continuity beyond the Summit itself. The programme targets SMEs across Africa’s priority value chains, with a particular focus on women- and youth-owned or operated businesses.
Built on strong institutional partnerships
TradeRoots Africa brings together a coalition of institutional partners:
- ICC, founded in 1919, is the institutional representative of more than 45 million companies in over 170 countries and the only private sector organisation with permanent observer status at the United Nations.
- The B20 Secretariat, which convenes business leaders from G20 countries and international organisations to shape the global economic and trade agenda.
- The AfCFTA Secretariat, serving as the programme’s anchor partner, lending technical authority and continental reach — from curriculum input and subject-matter expertise on trade policy and rules of origin, to mobilising African trade actors and feeding programme learnings back into its own policy work.
- ICC’s locally anchored network of Chambers of Commerce and National Committees across the continent, including ICC Kenya, which will support implementation and connect the programme with businesses on the ground.
A three-tier export-readiness journey
The programme is structured as a hybrid, funnelled three-tier journey:
- AfCFTA Deep Dive and Trade Basics — introduces high-potential SMEs to regional trade opportunities under AfCFTA, covering trade fundamentals, documentation, compliance, rules of origin, Incoterms 2020, and e-commerce essentials, leading to an AfCFTA readiness diagnostic for each participating business.
- Digital and Sectoral Readiness — prepares enterprises for real export engagement through sector-focused modules on e-commerce and digital trade integration, logistics optimisation, and product design and packaging aligned with export standards, producing personalised trade plans and sector-specific toolkits.
- Export Acceleration — supports direct market entry through trade missions, export financing, and deal facilitation, helping SMEs execute AfCFTA-compliant export plans, onboard onto regional e-commerce platforms, and access trade finance.
The curriculum draws on an extensive facilitator network, including the AfCFTA Secretariat, UNECA, TRALAC, the WCO, UNCTAD, the ITC, Afreximbank, the World Bank, WTO, TradeMark Africa, and regional economic community secretariats such as COMESA, EAC, ECOWAS and SADC, alongside specialised bootcamps such as a Women in Trade Bootcamp and a Digital Readiness Bootcamp.
What success looks like
Beyond direct benefits to participating SMEs — greater AfCFTA awareness, improved digital and export readiness, stronger integration into supply chains, and increased cross-border revenue — TradeRoots Africa is designed to generate systemic impact: feeding data and learnings back into AfCFTA policy work, mobilising trade finance from financial institutions, and building durable local networks and resources that outlast the programme itself through Chambers of Commerce and business associations.
ICC Kenya’s role
As part of ICC’s network of National Committees, ICC Kenya will help identify and support Kenyan SMEs through the TradeRoots Africa journey — connecting local businesses to regional trade opportunities, export-readiness training, and the wider continental network the programme is building. More details on how Kenyan SMEs can get involved will be shared as the programme rolls out.
