Africa Prosperity Network Mobilises Continental Leaders for 2nd Make Africa Borderless Now! Webinar, as Momentum Builds for Visa-Free Africa
Momentum toward a visa-free Africa is steadily gaining ground across the continent as more African countries begin taking practical steps to remove barriers to movement, trade, tourism, and continental integration.
Just last week, Togo became the sixth African country to offer visa-free travel to all Africans and not only ECOWAS citizens, adding fresh impetus to the growing campaign for the free movement of Africans within Africa.
Coinciding with Africa Union Day 2026, Ghana will officially begin implementing its long-awaited visa-free policy for African citizens from 25 May 2026, fulfilling a commitment first publicly announced during the 2024 Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) in Accra. The implementation will also be accompanied by the expected rollout of an electronic visa application system for all other travellers. This is expected to significantly ease travel procedures and boost tourism, connectivity, business travel, and investment into the country.
Against this backdrop, the Africa Prosperity Network (APN) will on Monday host an AU Day Special Webinar. This marks the second edition of its flagship Make Africa Borderless Now! (MABN) webinar, bringing together policymakers, development institutions, business leaders, academics, civil society actors, youth advocates, and Pan-African voices to advance practical solutions for continental free movement and economic integration.
The webinar forms part of APN’s broader continental advocacy campaign aimed at accelerating implementation of the African Union Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment, alongside other integration instruments necessary for the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The webinar will also examine the economic and social consequences of “Afrophobia” and restrictive migration systems, while exploring how freer movement can strengthen tourism, entrepreneurship, skills mobility, investment, and intra-African trade.
While the Free Movement protocol was adopted in 2018, progress toward its implementation has remained slow, with only four ratifications to date.
APN and its partners have consistently argued that Africa cannot fully realise the promise of the AfCFTA while Africans themselves continue to face restrictions moving across their own continent.
“The advocacy for a borderless Africa is beginning to gain real traction,” said Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Africa Prosperity Network. “We are encouraged that more African countries are beginning to recognise that the free movement of Africans is an economic necessity. Ghana’s long-awaited implementation of its visa-free policy and Togo’s recent decision demonstrate that progress is possible when leadership aligns with continental vision.”
He added: “Africa cannot build a genuine single market while Africans remain strangers to one another at the borders of their own continent.
“The implementation of visa-free policies, digital travel systems, interoperable payment platforms and open skies are practical steps toward unlocking Africa’s economic potential,” the APN founder said.
To be held Monday at 14:00 GMT, the webinar is expected to attract a large global audience, who will be free to ask questions and make contributions.
Speakers will include, H.E. Amma Twum-Amoah, Commissioner for the African Union Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, H.E. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, former Chairperson of the AU and architect of AU’s Agenda 2063. There will presentations from Amine Iddriss Adoum, Director, Infrastructure, Industrialisation, Trade and Economy, AUDA-NEPAD and Dr. Joy Kategekwa, Director of the African Development Bank Regional Integration Coordination Office.
Other speakers include Ziad Hamoui, Co-Founder and President of Borderless Alliance; Emmanuel Kwezi Tabaro, Energy Policy Researcher and International Development Professional from Uganda; Nana Kwame Bediako, CEO of Kwarleyz Group; Wode Maya, African YouTuber and vlogger; and Prince Moses, Director of Strategy at APN, who will moderate the discussions.
We will also hear from two professional migrants from Ghana and Cameroon domiciled in South Africa about their experiences.
According to the Africa Visa Openness Index, Africans still require visas to travel to nearly 45 percent of African countries, despite decades of Pan-African commitments toward integration. APN maintains that removing these barriers is central to empowering SMEs, women, and young entrepreneurs under the AfCFTA framework.
The Make Africa Borderless Now! campaign, launched during the 2026 Africa Prosperity Dialogues in Accra, is mobilising signatures to support the implementation of AU treaties and protocols related to free movement, digital trade, cross-border payments, and continental integration. Signatures gathered through the campaign will be presented to African Union leaders during the 40th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union in Addis Ababa in February 2027.
To register for the webinar, visit:
To support or sign the movement’s petition, visit: www.makeafricaborderlessnow.com
About Africa Prosperity Network
The Africa Prosperity Network is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to mobilising Africa’s private sector and policy leaders to advance economic integration, prosperity, and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area. Its flagship initiative, the Africa Prosperity Dialogues, convenes leaders annually to accelerate practical collaboration toward a single African market.
About Make Africa Borderless Now!
Make Africa Borderless Now! is a continental movement advocating the free movement of Africans, the removal of barriers to trade and mobility, and the implementation of African Union integration commitments.
