• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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ATI unveils trade app to bridge trust gaps

African Trade Invest (ATI)

African Trade Invest (ATI), a digital trade and investment platform, has launched an app to solve trust issues faced among investors, buyers and sellers in Africa.

The app, which was unveiled on August 1, 2019, is meant to make payment systems seamless and life easier for traders.

Uju Uzo, CEO, African Trade Invest said, “A lot of trade in Africa is still done informally and most buyers and sellers prefer to deal in cash and not the documentation processes. So we are trying to make them trust us. We want people to change the narrative of how they see Nigeria. Most times they don’t trust us because of the mistakes done by others.”

“We have built credibility overtime and people see what we have done by connecting sellers and buyers together,”Uzo further said.

According to a 2019 African trade report, Africa’s contribution to global trade remains marginal at 2.6 percent, up from 2.4 percent in 2017. While intra-African trade rose to 16 percent in 2018 from five percent in 1980, it remains low compared to intra-regional trade in Europe and Asia.

“The app enables you to invest in what you want to. Formally, you will just bring in funds and traders of Africa will help you to invest. And a number of people don’t talk about interest but share of profit. So you can target what you want to invest in and you can also monitor your investments. You don’t need to communicate to know how far your investment has gone or is going,” Tobe Nnadozie, board member, ATI said.

Emmanuel Ikazoboh, group chairman, Ecobank Transnational Inc, said, “The major challenge in Africa is capital. We do not have enough liquidity. Therefore, we must try to encourage businesses that are trying to look at Africa and also give them the financial support that they need.”

ATI started in September 1, 2017 in five countries such as Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria. It is a pan Africa online market space for products produced in Africa and a point of convergence for quality trade in Africa. Currently, it has 15,000 online and offline suppliers from all over Africa.

BUNMI BAILEY