The African Union Commission (AUC) and the World Bank have reviewed progress on their cooperation on continental integration, focusing on air transport connectivity, digital transformation and moving policy commitments towards projects ready for implementation.
African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, H.E. Lerato Mataboge, met with Nathan Belete, Director for Regional Programs, Africa, at the World Bank, in Addis Ababa on 23 October 2026. The meeting took stock of areas of joint work and explored ways to deepen cooperation between the two institutions on advancing Africa’s integration agenda.
The Building Institutions and Systems to Harness and Realize Agenda 2063 (BIASHARA) Project supports the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), including work on intra-African air connectivity, aviation infrastructure, and air cargo and trade facilitation. The project, a $50 million investment with performance-based conditions, aims to improve the effectiveness of the AUC and the AfCFTA Secretariat in supporting Member States to implement commitments to enhance regional integration and intracontinental trade.
Africa’s air transport sector remains constrained by restrictive market policies, expensive flights, infrequent services and poor safety standards, with intra-African connectivity levels among the lowest in the world. Analyses project that liberalising the sector could increase intra-Africa traffic volumes by 51 per cent, reduce average fares by 26 per cent and generate annual fare savings of $1.46 billion.
The West Africa Regional Digital Integration Program (WARDIP), in which the Commission takes part alongside ECOWAS and Smart Africa, supports broadband connectivity and the foundations of a single digital market in West Africa. The programme’s development objectives include increasing broadband access and usage in participating countries and advancing the integration of digital markets in the region.
Discussions also turned to the AU Theme of the Year 2027, “AU at the Dawn of its 25th Anniversary: Leveraging the Full Potential of SAATM and New Technologies for Continental Integration”, with both sides emphasising the need to move from studies and policy commitments towards projects ready for implementation. The Infrastructure and Energy Department continues to work with the World Bank to connect African markets through efficient air transport and reliable digital infrastructure.
The meeting reflects a broader push across the continent to translate integration frameworks into practical investments and reforms that make regional integration work for businesses and citizens. A recent World Bank report, Integrating Africa: From Threads to Hubs, estimates that deeper liberalisation of transport, telecommunications, financial and professional services could raise trade in services within the AfCFTA area by about 60–64 per cent by 2035.
For Africa, the focus is now on implementation, with the AUC and World Bank working to ensure that continental frameworks on air transport and digital integration deliver tangible outcomes such as shorter border-crossing times, lower logistics costs and more reliable regional infrastructure.
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