As part of the activities marking the vibrant celebration of Africa Day 2026, Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) has announced a major historic milestone regarding the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The ministry has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Rwanda’s national carrier, RwandAir, to establish a new “Air Cargo Corridor” designed to widely transport Nigerian products to East and Southern African countries.
This new agreement is highly expected to elevate trade volume between Nigeria and other African nations to a higher level, particularly by opening a grand gateway for exporters to supply their products to the continental market at affordable rates.
Before the establishment of this new air cargo corridor, Nigerian exporters faced exorbitant expenses when attempting to ship their goods to East and Southern African markets. On average, they had to pay between 3 and 10 US dollars per kilogram of cargo, a situation that rendered commercial activities extremely difficult and unprofitable.
Due to these high transport costs, it is remembered that the competitiveness of Nigerian products in other African markets was significantly reduced. The inflation of cargo rates acted as a major bottleneck that prevented small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from participating in the continental free trade zone.
The ministry began seeking solutions to address this transportation bottleneck exactly one year ago. During last year’s Africa Day celebration, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment officially launched the first Nigeria–East and Southern Africa Air Cargo Corridor in partnership with Uganda Airlines.
Under that agreement, Nigerian exporters were granted tiered and rebated rates of up to 70 percent below those of other commercial carriers to ship their goods to Entebbe in Uganda, Nairobi in Kenya, and Johannesburg in South Africa. This decisive action laid a massive foundation for the country’s trade growth over the past 12 months.
The new partnership with RwandAir, unveiled today on Africa Day 2026, significantly expands this air cargo corridor and incorporates fresh destinations. Under this new pact, the corridor has been extended to include three major new African cities, namely Kigali in Rwanda, Harare in Zimbabwe, and Lusaka in Zambia.
Furthermore, the new alliance provides Nigerian exporters with a second airline option on the pre-existing Nairobi, Kenya and Johannesburg, South Africa routes, which is expected to enhance service quality by fostering healthy competition among air carriers.
The most exciting development is that the air cargo rates for all five destinations operated by RwandAir have been set at under 2 US dollars per kilogram. This ensures that Nigerian goods can access destination markets swiftly and with minimal capital expenditure. The ministry announced that this partnership with RwandAir will officially flag off its operations next month.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, highlighted the fruits of their commitment during her address, stating that one year ago, the government promised that the AfCFTA would work in practice for Nigerian businesses rather than just on paper.
She noted that they set out to solve a practical problem where Nigerian businesses possessed goods that other African markets desired, but the cost of cargo was simply too prohibitive. She emphasized that this corridor has fully delivered on that promise, and their whole-of-economy approach to AfCFTA implementation is yielding positive results.
The Minister further explained that the country’s trade data reflects this success, with Nigeria’s non-oil exports to other African markets rising from 150 million dollars in 2024 to 207 million dollars in 2025.
