South Africa and Kenya push to turn African integration into industrial growth

While presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and William Ruto spoke of industrialisation, investment and African integration, business leaders at the South Africa-Kenya Business Forum repeatedly returned to a simpler complaint: Africa’s trade agreements are moving faster on paper than they are at border posts, customs offices and regulatory agencies. Held at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand as part of Ruto’s state visit to South Africa, the forum brought together government officials, financiers, industrialists and business organisations from both countries. What emerged was an unusually candid discussion about the obstacles that continue to hold back trade and investment between two of Africa’s most important economies.

For all the enthusiasm surrounding the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), speakers argued that the next phase of African integration will depend less on new agreements and more on removing practical barriers that continue to frustrate businesses operating across borders. The message came through repeatedly from executives, investors and business organisations representing both countries. Kenya and South Africa occupy pivotal positions in their respective regions.

Kenya is widely regarded as the gateway to East and Central Africa, while South Africa remains the continent’s most industrialised economy and largest financial centre. Yet trade between the two countries remains modest relative to their economic weight. In 2025, bilateral trade reached about $680 million.

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Kenya remains one of South Africa’s largest trading partners outside the Southern African Development Community, while more than 60 South African companies operate in Kenya across banking, insurance, telecommunications, manufacturing and retail, among other sectors. Ramaphosa says South African companies have undertaken 96 investment projects in Kenya worth more than $2 billion. Kenyan companies have invested in 11 projects in South Africa valued at about $283 million.

The figures formed the backdrop to a forum that focused less on trade statistics than on what comes next. Standard Bank Group chief executive Sim Tshabalala argued that Africa’s integration challenge remains significant despite the establishment of the AfCFTA. Describing Kenya and South Africa as the “two bookends of Africa’s most important north-south economic spine”, Tshabalala said the East African Community and Southern Africa had the potential to form a powerful economic corridor stretching from Mombasa to Cape Town. Yet Africa continues to trade far less with itself than other regions of the world.

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