✍️ BY: Dr. Hana Saada
Algiers – September 2025 – Algiers has officially assumed the mantle of Africa’s commercial capital as it inaugurates, from September 4 to 10, the fourth edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2025) at the Exhibition Palace (Safex). With more than 2,000 exhibitors and an anticipated 35,000 professional visitors, the event is being hailed as the continent’s most consequential economic gathering of the year, carrying implications that stretch far beyond trade.
The information day, held at the International Conference Center (CIC) in Algiers, underscored the political and strategic significance of this event. Algeria, which played a key role in preparations, has mobilized unprecedented human, logistical, and financial resources to guarantee the success of a fair considered by observers as nothing less than a turning point for Africa’s economic destiny.
Co-organized with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), of which Algeria is an active member, IATF 2025 is held under the theme “Transforming Africa’s Potential into Concrete Opportunities.” It gathers thousands of representatives from governments, public and private enterprises, professional organizations, financial institutions, and investors from across Africa and beyond.
Algeria at the Forefront of Africa’s Economic Future
Having twice been awarded the prize for the best pavilion in previous editions, Algeria intends not only to repeat its success but also to project itself as a continental hub for trade, investment, and innovation. For Algerian exporters, this edition represents a rare opportunity to seize new markets, while for the State, it is a means of promoting “Destination Algeria” across economic, cultural, and touristic dimensions.
Strategically located between the Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Africa, Algeria aspires to affirm its role as a bridge between regions and a key driver of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). For President Tebboune, African unity and cooperation are not mere ideals but essential conditions for overcoming shared challenges and building a prosperous continental future. Algeria’s commitment is already visible through its support for major continental infrastructure projects, such as the Trans-Saharan Highway, railway corridors, and expanded logistics platforms that pave the way for accelerated integration.
Unlocking Africa’s Untapped Potential
The scale of the challenge, however, underscores the stakes. Africa’s trade flows amount to $1.26 trillion annually, yet intra-African trade represents only 2.5% of global exports—a stark indicator of the gap between the continent’s immense resources and its marginal position in global markets.
For Mouloud Khelif, strategy and sustainable development expert, the IATF 2025 is a strategic inflection point:
“This fair constitutes a decisive step toward Africa’s economic emancipation and the construction of a shared space of prosperity. Algiers is asserting its role not just as host but as a leader and catalyst of African integration,” he stated.
Khelif noted that the fair is not limited to an exhibition. Its agenda includes economic forums, B2B and B2G meetings, thematic conferences, diaspora engagement days, a dedicated African automotive exhibition, and an innovation hub—all designed to make the IATF a platform of visibility for African products, from agribusiness to advanced technology.
Youth, Startups, and Innovation: Engines of Transformation
Placing innovation and youth entrepreneurship at its core, IATF 2025 highlights programs such as Youth Startups, CANEX Creative Africa, and the African Innovation Hub. For Professor Fatiha Youcef Ettoumi, an academic and national coordinator for startup development in higher education, this fair offers a unique window for Algerian startups to assert themselves in a competitive global market:
“In a fast-changing global economy, IATF 2025 represents the ideal space for Algerian startups to expand their footprint across the continent. It is an arena to network, build alliances, and showcase innovation that can adapt to local needs. Success here requires strategy, resilience, and above all, the audacity to stand out,” she explained.
Ettoumi emphasized that the fair not only connects startups with investors and multinational companies but also creates pathways for venture capital and business angels to channel funding into Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. She noted that the African Development Bank is ideally positioned to finance such partnerships, amplifying the potential of startup-driven growth.
A Landmark in Africa’s Integration Agenda
Beyond its economic impact, the fair carries profound symbolic weight. It is viewed as the embodiment of an Africa determined to harness its own potential, reduce dependency, and forge a future built by Africans, for Africans. The alignment with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 further reinforces its role as a milestone in Africa’s long march toward sustainable and inclusive development.
For Algeria, the stakes are equally strategic: consolidating its leadership role, deepening economic ties with African partners, and positioning itself as an indispensable partner in shaping the continent’s economic future.
As the fair unfolds over the week, all eyes will remain on Algiers, where the dream of a common African marketplace is not only being discussed but actively built.
Translated from:
https://www.horizons.dz/?p=343428
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