A coalition including:
The AfCFTA Secretariat
The IOTA Foundation
The Tony Blair Institute, and
The World Economic Forum
has unveiled a plan to modernize trade across Africa using blockchain and stablecoins. The initiative is called Africa Digital Access and Public Infrastructure for Trade (ADAPT).
ADAPT is a public, open-source digital network that will:
Support cross-border payments via stablecoins and
Manage digital trade documents and interoperable digital identities,
which are some of the key inefficiencies highlighted by the IOTA Foundation.
According to recent statistics, stablecoins now account for 43% of all crypto transaction volumes in Africa with Nigeria, South Africa, and Ethiopia leading adoption. The shift is enabling faster, cheaper, and more compliant cross-border settlements, while regulatory regimes are slowly catching up. Nigeria alone received more than 40% of SSA stablecoin inflows last year, with Ethiopia and Zambia seeing annual growth rates above 100%.
According to Dominik Schiener, Co-Founder and Chairman of the IOTA Foundation, the goal is to roll ADAPT out to all 55 African countries by 2035, streamlining trade operations across the continent.
Key targets for ADAPT include:
Unlocking $70 billion in additional annual trade
Reducing customs clearance time at borders from as much as 14 days to under 3 days
Lowering cross-border payment fees, currently between 6% and 9%, to under 3%.
Schiener adds:
“Border & customs clearing will go from weeks to hours, cross-border payments will be reduced to less than 3% and exporters will get access to global trade finance liquidity.”
The phased deployment of ADAPT begins in Q1 2026, starting in Kenya, followed by Ghana and a third country yet to be confirmed. The full rollout is expected to begin in 2027 and continue through 2035.
Schiener acknowledges that the journey will be challenging but remains optimistic:
“This will be a long and challenging road, but thanks to the commitment of the AfCFTA and the dedication of our partners.
I am convinced that we will realize this mission to connect Africa through the most modern digital trade infrastructure in the world.”
STABLECOINS | South African #RWA Marketplace, @AgriDexPlatform, Hits $9 Million Milestone in Stablecoin Trades Across African Markets
The agricultural marketplace says it is preparing to expand outside #Africa starting in 2026.https://t.co/gxm1d2MyQb @solana @circle $USDC pic.twitter.com/IJnJMcsG9D
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) September 10, 2025
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