Afrimart is the first Pan-African Business to Business focused marketplace whose central aim is to create an infrastructure that supports the rapid growth of seamless trade of goods and services across Africa and world at large. According to Fredrick Igbinedion, President and Founder of Afrimart, the decision to form the platform was inspired by the availability of vast opportunities for business among African countries, most of which has still not been fully harnessed.  He stated that, “Africa is by far one of the lowest in terms of continental or regional trade around the world with intra Africa trade estimated at 11%”, while speaking at the launch event held on the sidelines of this year’s Afreximbank Annual Meeting(African-Export-Import Bank) and its 25^th anniversary celebrations in Abuja, Nigeria.

Igbinedion observed that Afrimart takes off from the ongoing Africa industrialization strategy by African governments and is an essential development towards the recently launched AfCFTA (Africa Free Trade Agreement) geared towards building a prosperous continent with shared wealth.  He further stated; “We believe that transforming African economies for the better is a shared role, and Afrimart is offering an access to market solution that is key in fostering trade within Africa which will, in turn, catalyze the continent’s industrialization drive through existing and emerging business opportunities”, “Suffice is to say”, he added, “intra-Africa trade is fraught with many roadblocks which can be surmounted by the proper will, planning and deployment of appropriate technological infrastructure to support this endeavor”. He has identified the most important factor limiting trade in Africa, most especially at the critical digital age, as market linkages and the automation required thereof to facilitate the linkages.

The Afrimart founder explained that the platform is designed to create new business opportunities for African SMEs, general merchants and service providers on the pursuit for growth and expansion by creating visibility and accessibility to African buyers and suppliers. In his words, “Afrimart.com platform, therefore fills this gap. Through Afrimart, we are deploying a world-class highly robust and scalable platform that will become Africa’s Global Marketplace”.