The Federal Government has expanded Nigeria’s African Continental Free Trade Area export corridor through a new partnership with RwandAir aimed at lowering cargo costs and opening fresh export routes into East and Southern Africa.
The development comes one year after Nigeria launched the Nigeria-East and Southern Africa Air Cargo Corridor with Uganda Airlines as part of efforts to deepen intra-African trade under the AfCFTA framework.
In a statement issued on Sunday to commemorate Africa Day, the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment said the new agreement with RwandAir would extend the corridor to Kigali in Rwanda, Harare in Zimbabwe and Lusaka in Zambia, while also providing Nigerian exporters with an additional carrier option on the Nairobi and Johannesburg routes.
The ministry said the move was designed to tackle one of the biggest barriers facing Nigerian exporters on the continent, high logistics and cargo transportation costs.
The statement issued by the minister’s office read, “As Nigeria celebrates Africa Day 2026 the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) is pleased to announce a major expansion of Nigeria’s implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) through a new strategic partnership with RwandAir for the Nigeria–East and Southern Africa Air Cargo Corridor.”
Before the establishment of the corridor, exporters reportedly paid between $3 and $10 per kilogramme to move goods into East and Southern African markets, making Nigerian products less competitive.
However, under the new arrangement, cargo rates on the RwandAir routes will now cost below $2 per kilogramme across all five destinations.
It added, “On Africa Day 2025, the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment launched the Nigeria–East and Southern Africa Air Cargo Corridor through a partnership with Uganda Airlines.
“This partnership provides 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.
“Today one year later, on Africa Day 2026, the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment 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 US$2 per kilogram for all five destinations, ensuring that Nigerian goods can access destination markets quickly and affordably.”
The ministry noted that the RwandAir partnership would be formally inaugurated in June 2026.
Speaking on the initiative, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, said the government was beginning to see practical results from Nigeria’s AfCFTA implementation strategy.
She 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 $150m in 2024 to $207m 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 government creates the enabling environment and businesses respond with ambition.”
The minister said the initiative reflected growing economic cooperation between African countries and acknowledged the role played by both the governments of Uganda and Rwanda in facilitating the arrangement.
She also commended several Nigerian agencies and private sector institutions involved in the project, including the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture.
According to the ministry, negotiations leading to the partnership were coordinated by Oduwole alongside technical advisers from the United Nations Development Programme Regional Bureau for Africa and the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office.
The government added that the agreement also emerged as one of the early outcomes of bilateral discussions between Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Paul Kagame during the 13th Africa CEO Forum held in Kigali on May 13, 2026.
It is expected that the cargo corridor would significantly improve Nigeria’s export competitiveness, particularly for time-sensitive and high-value products.
The ministry stated that sectors expected to benefit most from the initiative include agribusiness, fashion and textiles, cosmetics, processed foods and light manufacturing.
Business owners have maintained that logistics costs have long undermined Nigeria’s export ambitions despite the country’s manufacturing and agricultural potential. Many exporters have struggled to penetrate African markets because transportation expenses often eroded profit margins and increased final product prices.
The AfCFTA, which officially commenced trading in January 2021, seeks to create a single African market for goods and services, boost industrialisation and deepen regional integration across the continent.
Nigeria formally began commercial trading under the agreement in 2024 and has since intensified efforts to improve export readiness, trade infrastructure and market access for local businesses.
The Federal Government urged exporters, freight operators and business associations to take advantage of the expanded cargo corridor to scale Nigerian products across African markets.
It added that exporters interested in using the scheme could contact licensed freight forwarders or cargo desks operated by Uganda Airlines and RwandAir at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
