ADDIS, Ethiopia- Kenya on Thursday unveiled BiasharaLink and Deal House, two interconnected digital trade platforms designed to transform how African embassies facilitate business and investment across the continent, marking a major push toward operationalising the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The platforms were launched at a high‑level reception in the Ethiopian capital during the 39th African Union (AU) Summit, where heads of state and government have prioritised practical, execution‑focused solutions to unlocking the potential of the AfCFTA — an agreement that aims to create a single market for 1.4 billion people with a combined GDP of more than USD 3.4 trillion.
Transforming Embassies into Trade Hubs
Developed by Real Sources Africa, the digital infrastructure partner and Kenya’s official AfCFTA Trading Company, the platforms are intended to close Africa’s longstanding trade execution gap — the divide between trade opportunities identified and deals actually completed.
By harnessing technology, the initiative seeks to convert Africa’s network of more than 1,000 diplomatic missions into proactive facilitators of commerce and investment, shifting embassies from traditional diplomatic roles toward transaction‑enabling hubs.
BiasharaLink functions as a digital system that allows diplomatic missions, exporters, investors and market actors to log, structure and track trade and investment opportunities in line with AfCFTA priorities.
Deal House serves as the execution layer, where opportunities captured on BiasharaLink are validated, matched with credible counterparties, connected to financing, and progressed toward contract execution.
This two‑tier approach aims to move Africa beyond policy frameworks toward real, bankable deals that create jobs, connect markets, and strengthen cross‑border value chains.
Economic Diplomacy for SMEs and Women Entrepreneurs
The initiative emphasises inclusive growth by empowering small and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs) and women‑led businesses to access new markets, execute cross‑border transactions and scale participation in intra‑African commerce.
Under AfCFTA, African countries are working to remove barriers to trade and lower costs, but structural challenges have hampered execution.
Digital platforms such as BiasharaLink and Deal House are part of a new wave of tools aimed at closing these gaps.
Leadership Backing and Continental Support
At the launch, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi described the platforms as “a new model of economic diplomacy — one that is results‑oriented,” noting they connect opportunity to execution in a way that can turn diplomacy into delivery.
““BiasharaLink and Deal House represent a new model of economic diplomacy; one that is results oriented. It provides a common platform for capturing and organising opportunity. It connects opportunity to execution. Together, the platforms turn diplomacy into delivery,” Mudavadi said.
AfCFTA Secretary‑General Wamkele Mene said the platforms are timely as the continent faces global supply chain pressures and rising protectionism, but Africa’s commitment to building strong domestic markets “means we have no alternative but to succeed.”
Private Sector Partnership
Real Sources Africa founder and CEO Felix Chege noted that embassies collect thousands of trade enquiries monthly but less than 1 per cent currently translate into executed deals.
The digital infrastructure aims to significantly improve that ratio, linking leads to financing and verified counterparties.
James Mwangi, CEO of Equity Group Holdings, described the initiative as a “trade superhighway” built through government‑private sector partnership, where the platforms serve as the machinery driving enquiries into bankable, trackable deals.
Meanwhile, Mathias Kamp, Regional Director for the Konrad‑Adenauer‑Stiftung, said moving AfCFTA beyond policy to execution is essential if Africa is to unlock its trade potential.
A Strategic Milestone for AfCFTA Implementation
The launch aligns with Kenya’s broader leadership role in AfCFTA, including its position as the Chair of the AU Assembly Committee of Heads of State and Government on AfCFTA Implementation and Co‑champion of the Digital Trade Protocol.
The digital trade initiative signals a shift toward digital, execution‑focused economic diplomacy designed to turn continental trade ambitions into tangible commercial outcomes.
