GTR Africa 2025 ended on a grand note on Friday 14th March in Cape Town.. The event brought together trade finance, supply chain finance, and banking leaders to discuss the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping Africa’s financial ecosystem..
Key themes emerging from GTR Africa 2025
- The impact of shifting macroeconomics and geopolitics on African trade and investment
- Trade and working capital optimisation strategies
- The role of supply chain finance in achieving strategic goals
- Bridging Africa’s infrastructure gap through financing and innovation
- Digitalisation – The rapidly changing world of trade finance and compliance
For me, there was a noticeable interest, focus, and discussions on Supply Chain Finance solutions compared to Trade Finance solutions.. This may be in line with the global shift or percentage split towards open account trade compared to traditional trade finance..
I had the opportunity to personally engage with several leaders covering topics from digitalisation in trade to the impact of geopolitical risks on Africa’s trade landscape.. These discussions underscored the transformative changes happening across the industry and the expectations in Africa..
Below are some of the insightful perspectives shared by industry experts during my conversations at the event, each offering unique insights into Africa’s evolving trade finance landscape..
On Technology & Digitalisation
On the technology side, Africa is seen as a major growth market for 2025.. “We are focused on building partnerships that will drive digital trade transformation in the region,” said Sunil Senapati – CEO, XDC Network..
XDC Network provides digital solutions to help corporates and banks transition to fully digitalise trade finance including creating, exchanging, and financing documents seamlessly..
Senapati was quite enthused over their first African deal using their network “Our first African deal will likely involve warehouse receipt-based title documents for trade finance—bringing efficiency and security to inventory-based lending.”
There was however a shared concern over the adoption of digital technologies in Africa which Senapati attributed to a lack of awareness stating “The lack of adoption in Africa is not due to missing technology, but rather a lack of awareness. Businesses need to know these solutions exist and how they can benefit from them.”
The views on the African growth story and adoption of digital solutions were also shared by Tal Weiser – Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) @ Surecomp..
Speaking to Shipping and Freight Resource, he said “The African trade market is growing, and financial institutions must embrace technology to stay competitive and better serve their clients. We see more and more banks in Africa looking for digital solutions to improve efficiency and enhance the customer journey.”
Tal Weiser, pointed out that cloud-based trade finance solutions are gaining traction among African banks. “Cloud adoption is increasing among African banks as they seek to reduce costs and modernise their trade finance operations,” said Weiser..
Tal was of the view that cloud adoption, allows banks and financial institutions to:
- Lower operational costs
- Improve scalability and agility
- Offer a better customer experience through seamless digital trade finance solutions
Commenting on Surecomp’s presence at GTR Africa, Weiser said that Surecomp is “excited to be here and see more banks and corporates looking for solutions and we are happy to provide those kinds of solutions.”
Surecomp has been providing digital trade and supply chain finance solutions for corporates and financial institutions for nearly forty years enabling seamless, sustainable trade by breaking down barriers and fostering collaboration..
Similarly, Tom O’Brien, Sales Manager at China Systems Middle East, discussed the growing momentum behind microservices-driven trade finance platforms..
“We are excited to support Nedbank in launching their new microservices SCF solution—one of many digital innovations reshaping trade finance in Africa,” said an excited O’Brien..
“China Systems is committed to co-creating with clients to drive digital transformation and efficiency in global trade finance. We have a good client base in Africa and we are always happy to be present in this key market” added O’Brien..
As per O’Brien, GTR Africa is a key platform for engaging with banks and businesses as they accelerate their shift to digital trade solutions..
Conclusion
GTR Africa has turned out to be not just another industry gathering but has become a critical barometer of where African trade and in particular its financial evolution stands today and where it is headed..
On the technology and digitalisation front, while the adoption of digital trade solutions has been slow, hindered by a lack of awareness, infrastructure challenges, and hesitation among the stakeholders, cloud-based platforms and microservices are beginning to gain traction..
The momentum in African trade is building but only its execution will determine whether Africa’s trade finance ecosystem can truly evolve to meet the demands of the future..
