Dike Onwuamaeze
Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) has announced a new partnership with RwandAir for the Nigeria–East and Southern Africa Air Cargo Corridor that allows Nigerian goods quicker and affordable exports to the regional markets.
FMITI said the partnership was a major expansion of Nigeria’s implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
It recalled that on Africa Day 2025, it launched the Nigeria–East and Southern Africa Air Cargo Corridor through a partnership with Uganda Airlines, which provided Nigerian exporters with tiered and rebated rates of up to 70 per cent below those of other commercial carriers for goods exported to Entebbe, Uganda; Nairobi, Kenya; and Johannesburg, South Africa.
FMITI said, “Today one year later, on Africa Day 2026, the FMITI is pleased to announce a partnership with RwandAir that extends the corridor to Kigali, Harare and Lusaka as new destinations and gives Nigerian exporters a second choice of carrier on the Nairobi and Johannesburg routes.
“Cargo rates on the RwandAir routes are set at under $2 per kilogram for all five destinations, ensuring that Nigerian goods can access destination markets quickly and affordably. The RwandAir partnership will be formally flagged off in June 2026.”
Commenting on the partnership, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, said, “One year ago, we promised that the AfCFTA would work in practice for Nigerian businesses, not only on paper. We set out to solve a practical problem: Nigerian businesses have goods that African markets wanted, but the cost of cargo was too high.
“This corridor has kept that promise, and our whole-of-economy approach to AfCFTA implementation is yielding results. Nigeria’s non-oil exports to other African markets rose from $150 million in 2024 to $207 million in 2025.
“With RwandAir, we are widening the air cargo corridor, so that more Nigerian exporters can reach more markets at a cost that allows them to compete. These results show what is possible when the government creates the enabling environment and businesses respond with ambition.”
The ministry said prior to the establishment of the partnership, many Nigerian exporters were faced with cargo costs ranging from $3 to $10 per kilogramme for goods sent to East and Southern Africa, which made the cost of trade prohibitive and reduced the price competitiveness of Nigerian goods.
