How Africa’s logistics corridors shape the success of AfCFTA trade

Africa’s logistics corridors are emerging as dynamic arteries, linking remote production hubs with growing urban markets and fuelling the ambitions of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The promises of seamless trade and pan-continental growth are anchored not only in grand highways but in the day-to-day realities of the truckers, freight forwarders, and customs officials who hold the fate of shipments in their hands.

When the AfCFTA agreement came into force in January 2021, it was a turning point for Africa, a chance to rewire trade away from global dependencies, build internal economic muscle, and create value across borders. Yet the road from vision to reality is rutted and fraught. For years, intra-African trade has languished at just 14–17% of total exports, a fraction of regional trade in Europe or Asia. Among the top reasons are chronic border bottlenecks, fragmented regulatory regimes, and the very absence of enabling logistics infrastructure, particularly for large or complex cargo.

"For the abnormal load industry," notes Ryan Hosking, Director at Vanguard, "it's not always easy to draw a clear comparison for large-scale cargo against AfCFTA. We have observed a fair amount of cross-border transport RFQ’s for the mining and power industries, but given the nature of the industry, assessing the impact of AfCFTA on heavy cargo movement is complex." Even as cross-border requests grow, the workflows for oversized logistics remain as unpredictable as ever.

Corridors changing the game
Africa’s flagship corridors are more than infrastructure; they are experiments in connectivity. Consider LAPSSET, linking Kenya’s Lamu Port to Ethiopia and South Sudan, or the North South corridor which threads through Southern Africa’s mining belt to bustling ports. The Abidjan Lagos coastal highway, bridging five West African countries, is seeing rapid upgrades in customs procedures and trucking standards. These corridors are now lifelines of intra-African commerce, connecting millions and compressing distances that once punished traders with weeks-long delays.

The reality, though, is that progress can be uneven. "We have not observed any major changes to border processes for heavy cargo," adds Hosking. "From a heavy cargo perspective, regulatory and infrastructure bottlenecks still restrict trade flows. Our role is to continue active collaboration with the relevant authorities, providing input and recommending practical measures to enable smooth, compliant transit of heavy cargo across borders." For all the headlines about digitised border posts and regional tariff alignment, the daily grind too often sees trucks idling at customs yards, drivers napping in their cabs, and coordinators shuffling stacks of paperwork.

The introduction and alignment of tariffs across the region would provide a highly efficient model for trade facilitation
Rodney Seema, EAMT

The human element
It is the people, the truckers, customs officers, and freight agents, who truly live the corridor reality. Their work shapes every ton and pallet passing from warehouse to marketplace.

Rodney Seema, Director of EAMT (East Africa Marine Transport Company), describes how the company’s roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessels have transformed cargo movement: "With the introduction of M.V. MPUNGU, the first scheduled RoRo freight vessel on the lake, EAMT offers a dependable alternative to overcrowded and less efficient road transport. This reduces travel times from days to hours, lowers carbon emissions, decreases costs, and improves regional connectivity. EAMT's long-term vision is to expand its services, integrate multimodal logistics, and support the trade objectives of AfCFTA and EAC."

Truck drivers now take scheduled ferries across the lake, bypassing dangerous and congested routes. "For drivers, the journey is significantly safer and less stressful, with reduced risks to both their personal safety and their cargo. Incidents of fuel and cargo pilferage are minimised, improving overall security," Seema reports. The impact on communities is palpable: shortened travel distances mean less wear on vehicles, lower running costs, and improved delivery times that ripple outward to local businesses and economies.

Traders and forwarders emphasise these efficiency gains, freight arrives quicker, cheaper, and with fewer documentation headaches. "The quicker turnaround time translates into increased volumes, which benefits not only the trucking and trading community but also the wider regional economy," Seema says.

Bottlenecks and the reality of AfCFTA
Despite these strides, the bottlenecks stubbornly persist. Customs harmonisation remains patchy, with each corridor and border post enforcing unique regulatory requirements. Truck drivers still recount stories of hours, sometimes days, spent waiting for clearance, trips marred by unexpected fees and inconsistent paperwork. Even digital systems can be only as strong as their weakest human or physical link.

Hosking underscores the specificity of the problem: "From a heavy cargo perspective, major changes have yet to materialise."

Still, there are reasons for optimism. Investments in infrastructure, better roads, smarter border posts, and modernised ports, are beginning to pay dividends in places like LAPSSET and Abidjan Lagos. The real test for AfCFTA is not in grand policy statements but in the lived experience of those tasked with moving Africa’s goods.

We have not observed any major changes to border processes for heavy cargo
Ryan Hosking, Vanguard

The Road Ahead: Policy, Infrastructure, and Collaboration
Looking forward, the solution is clear: scale up multimodal logistics, streamline documentation, and standardise tariffs across regions. "The introduction and alignment of tariffs across the region, particularly for Ro-Ro vessels transporting trucks, would provide a highly efficient model for trade facilitation," argues Seema. "By ensuring tariff alignment for such services across ports, EAMT can help create a predictable and competitive pricing environment, incentivising greater use of Ro-Ro shipping, increasing cargo volumes, and boosting intra-African trade flows in line with AfCFTA’s objectives."

What single change could create the most impact? Seema is unequivocal: "Stronger collaboration among corridor authorities to harmonise policies and tariffs and make regional trade more competitive. By working together to reduce inefficiencies and align regulations, authorities can unlock greater opportunities for intra-African trade and ensure that regional goods remain more attractive than imports from outside the continent."

A Continent at the crossroads
Africa’s logistics corridors are at a crossroads, embodying both the promise of AfCFTA and the stubborn realities of cross-border trade. For the truckers and traders, each trip is a test not just of machines but of systems and cooperation. Will investments in logistics infrastructure, smarter policy, and real harmonisation finally break the bottlenecks choking the flow of goods? The answer will decide whether AfCFTA’s grand ambitions translate into tangible prosperity for Africa’s people, businesses, and economies.