Trade between Africa and the Caribbean is being held back by disproportionately high freight costs, weak transport connectivity and thin commercial networks, according to the International Trade Centre (ITC), which is urging a comprehensive approach to tackling the barriers.
ITC estimates that freight costs on African exports to the Caribbean amount to almost 20% of shipment value, compared with just over 8% for African exports globally. The picture is even starker in the other direction, with Caribbean exports to Africa facing costs approaching 22%. These figures underscore how physical distance, limited routes and fragmented networks continue to undermine viable trade between the two regions.
The constraints are not new. Low trade volumes weaken direct transport links, poor connectivity raises costs, limited commercial relationships restrict access to information, and smaller transactions are harder to finance. Businesses on both sides struggle to access reliable market information, trusted partners and appropriate finance, as well as to navigate standards and move goods efficiently.
The priority, according to the ITC, is to tackle these challenges in a comprehensive way rather than piecemeal. Improved connections can play a catalytic role. Scheduled direct air services between Lagos and Barbados, launched in 2026, illustrate how better links can support business travel, tourism and wider services — sectors that could help the two regions move beyond traditional goods trade.
Access to finance is a central part of the puzzle. The issue depends not only on the availability of capital but on whether viable opportunities can be connected to appropriate financing. Businesses need guidance on available funding and lender requirements, while financial institutions need appropriate instruments and ways to manage risk. Trade finance, working-capital facilities, guarantees and risk-sharing mechanisms can all help bridge these gaps.
Payments also matter, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Slow, costly or uncertain transfers can derail transactions, and more efficient cross-border payment systems would reduce both transaction costs and risks. Africa’s Pan-African Payment and Settlement System offers useful lessons for simplifying payments as financial links with the Caribbean deepen.
Beyond trade volumes, the ITC argues that value creation extends beyond goods. Services, digital solutions and the creative industries can generate more value within both regions. Africa and the Caribbean have globally recognised cultural assets and extensive diasporas, yet much of the creative value is captured elsewhere. Creators and firms need finance, workable payments, intellectual property expertise, distribution channels and direct access to buyers and investors. Supporting creative businesses, rather than only promoting cultural exchange, would generate more revenue and help jobs remain in local economies.
Governments and institutions can create the enabling environment, but businesses will ultimately determine whether a new chapter in Africa–Caribbean economic relations succeeds, especially for SMEs. Commonwealth trade and investment platforms can connect policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs and business leaders, offering a way to identify obstacles that no single firm or government can resolve alone. Success, however, means introductions becoming contracts, investment reaching viable enterprises and businesses entering new markets.
The Commonwealth brings an existing economic advantage to this endeavour, and the opportunity is to make that advantage work more deliberately for Africa–Caribbean commerce. Through its Working Group on Trade and Investment, member countries are developing a workplan to expand intra-Commonwealth commerce. Cooperation on compatible regulations, mutual recognition of standards and qualifications, and simpler border procedures can help realise these gains.
The ITC’s work — spanning investment promotion, digital trade, women’s economic empowerment, small-state resilience and emerging Africa–Caribbean business linkages — can advance this agenda, while Afreximbank’s Global Africa vision brings the finance, investment and commercial infrastructure required to turn diaspora ties into sustainable economic relationships. These capabilities are complementary: trade policy can open markets, finance helps businesses act, and enterprises sustain commercial relationships.
The practical test is clear: identify viable opportunities, mobilise investment, resolve logistics, finance and payment barriers, connect SMEs to customers and investors, use digital trade to overcome distance and retain more value within regions. Progress should then be measured in transactions, market access and sustainable business relationships.
