The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has launched a Digital Retail Payments Platform that will allow businesses across its 21 member states, including Ethiopia, Kenya, and Egypt, to settle trade transactions directly in local currencies.

The initiative aims to reduce transaction costs and eliminate dependence on hard currencies such as the U.S. dollar for regional payments. The system is currently being piloted between Malawi and Zambia in collaboration with two digital financial service providers and a foreign exchange partner.

“For the first time, cross-border trade within COMESA can be settled directly in local currencies. This is a game-changer,” said Kenya’s Trade Minister Lee Kinyanjui, adding that the platform is designed to particularly benefit micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that face “cumbersome and expensive” payment processes.

The platform will seek to keep transaction fees below 3% of trade value, providing affordable and secure payment options for regional traders.

Kenyan President William Ruto, who recently assumed the COMESA chairmanship, emphasized the importance of regional integration and announced additional investments of USD 150 million in the Trade and Development Bank (TDB) and Afreximbank to strengthen African financial institutions.

Source: Reuters