Kenya unveiled two interconnected digital trade platforms — BiasharaLink and Deal House — in a bold move to transform African embassies into transaction-enabling hubs for trade and investment.
The landmark initiative was launched at a high-level reception in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the sidelines of the 39th AU Summit, where Heads of State are prioritising practical, execution-focused trade solutions to unlock the full potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The digital platforms, developed by Real Sources Africa — a pan-African trade infrastructure institution serving as Kenya’s AfCFTA Trading Company — aim to close the continent’s long-standing trade execution gap.
BiasharaLink is a digital system designed to enable diplomatic missions, exporters, investors and market actors to formally capture, structure and track trade and investment opportunities aligned with AfCFTA priorities.
Deal House functions as the execution engine. Opportunities generated through BiasharaLink are validated, matched with credible counterparties, linked to financing, and progressed toward contract execution.
Together, the platforms seek to leverage the commercial potential of more than 1,000 diplomatic missions across Africa — transforming traditional embassies into proactive originators and facilitators of commercially viable deals.
Speaking during the launch, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Musalia Mudavadi, described the initiative as a shift toward results-oriented economic diplomacy.
“BiasharaLink and Deal House represent a new model of economic diplomacy; one that is results oriented. It provides a common platform for capturing and organising opportunity. It connects opportunity to execution. Together, the platforms turn diplomacy into delivery,” Mudavadi said.
Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the AfCFTA, noted that Africa must strengthen its domestic market amid global supply chain disruptions and rising protectionism.
“We have no alternative but to succeed; we have to build a very strong domestic market,” he said.
The initiative aligns with African Union Agenda 2063 vision by fostering deeper regional integration, enhanced trade cooperation and shared prosperity.
It places particular emphasis on empowering SMEs and women-led enterprises to access new markets, execute cross-border transactions and scale participation in intra-African trade.
Felix Chege, Founder and CEO of Real Sources Africa, revealed that African embassies collectively receive about 3,500 trade enquiries monthly, but fewer than one per cent translate into closed deals.
“Our main goal is to build the infrastructure and ecosystems that can drive trade, investment and financing to move this continent forward,” he said.
James Mwangi, CEO of Equity Group Holdings, described the partnership between government and the private sector as the establishment of a “trade superhighway.”
“These platforms are the day-to-day machinery that enable enquiries to turn into bankable and trackable deals,” Mwangi said.
Mathias Kamp, Regional Director at Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, said the AfCFTA must now move from ambition to action.
“Five years on, the potential remains untapped. I’m convinced that what we are launching today will be a significant step forward in unlocking trade,” he noted.
The initiative reflects the leadership of William Samoei Ruto, who chairs the AU Assembly Committee of Heads of State and Government on AfCFTA implementation and serves as Co-Champion of the Digital Trade Protocol.
The Addis Ababa event precedes a pre-AU Summit committee meeting to review progress and assess key milestones in AfCFTA implementation — with trade execution emerging as a central priority.
With BiasharaLink and Deal House, Kenya is positioning itself at the forefront of a digitally driven model of economic diplomacy — one aimed not just at shaping policy frameworks, but at delivering tangible commercial outcomes across Africa.
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