In a landmark move to accelerate continental trade, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has announced a strategic partnership with Rendeavour, Africa’s largest new city builder.
Signed at the Biashara Afrika 2026 forum in Togo, the agreement establishes Rendeavour as AfCFTA’s inaugural private sector implementation partner for infrastructure-led industrialisation and integrated economic zones.
The collaboration aims to bridge the gap between trade policy and physical infrastructure, transforming how goods, capital, and labor move across the continent.
While the AfCFTA represents a market with a combined GDP of over USD 3.4 trillion, projected to unlock an additional USD 450 billion in income by 2035, physical infrastructure remains a critical bottleneck. Currently, intra-African trade accounts for just 14% of the continent’s total commerce. Furthermore, Africa hosts a mere 4% of the world’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs), roughly 230 out of more than 5,400 globally.
To address these disparities, the partnership will focus on three priority pillars:
- Advancing SEZs: Boosting the role of Special Economic Zones as primary drivers of continental industrialisation.
- Mobilising Private Capital: Attracting large-scale private investment for trade-enabling infrastructure, including reliable utilities and logistics networks.
- Developing Trade Corridors: Building integrated industrial hubs linked directly to master-planned cities to support urban economies and manufacturing workforces.
Backed by an international coalition of American, Norwegian, New Zealand, and British investors, Rendeavour already manages an ecosystem valued at over USD 5 billion. Its portfolio spans major urban development projects in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Over the last five years alone, these hubs have generated more than 50,000 jobs.
Pioneering SEZs like Tatu City in Nairobi, Kenya, and Alaro City in Lagos, Nigeria, have already proven the viability of this model. Major global and regional manufacturers, such as Zhende Medical and Ariel Foods, initially established roots within Rendeavour’s Kenyan hub before expanding their operations into Nigeria and the DRC. This organic, corporate expansion serves as a blueprint for the cross-border integration that the AfCFTA aims to standardize.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, leadership from both organizations emphasized that Africa’s economic future relies heavily on private sector execution.
“Africa is not only the fastest-growing region in the world; with time it will also become one of the safest and most reliable destinations for investment. As the first private sector implementation partner of AfCFTA, Rendeavour’s cities are recognised for their infrastructure and operating environments where investment, manufacturing and trade can thrive.” Stephen Jennings, Founder and CEO of Rendeavour
H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, echoed this sentiment, highlighting the shift from trade agreements to tangible, commercial ecosystems.
“The implementation of the AfCFTA requires strategic partnerships that can translate the opportunities of the Agreement into commercially viable industrial and trade ecosystems. This partnership reflects the growing confidence of the private sector in Africa’s single market and industrial future.” H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat