RCBank CEO speaks at African Trade Leaders Dialogue in The Gambia
Dr. Walton Ekundayo Gilpin, Managing Director and CEO of Rokel Commercial Bank (RCBank), has identified trade finance as a critical driver for the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Speaking on the theme: “Can Trade Finance Be a Key Driver of AfCFTA?” at the African Trade Leaders Dialogue in The Gambia, Dr. Gilpin said Africa’s free trade ambitions risk falling short unless financial systems are aligned to support cross-border commerce.
He noted that many African businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, remain excluded from regional trade due to limited access to affordable trade finance.
“Trade liberalisation without trade finance cannot deliver meaningful integration. Finance is the engine that must power AfCFTA,” Dr. Gilpin said. He called for stronger collaboration among African banks, governments, and development partners to close the continent’s trade finance gap and promote inclusive participation in intra-African trade.
Dr. Gilpin also emphasised the need for innovative and digital trade finance solutions to reduce transaction costs and strengthen regional value chains.
Dr. Gilpin’s insights at the dialogue underscored a broader consensus among African financial leaders that trade finance must be recognized as a key driver, not a peripheral tool, in realising AfCFTA’s transformative promise. With strategic investment and policy alignment, trade finance can unlock markets, empower African businesses, and elevate the continent’s role in global trade.
He concluded by indicating that Africa needs to solve payment settlement issues, logistical problems, improve productive capacity and value addition, and overcome trust issues for the trade finance gap to shrink and trade finance becomes more effective.
