Kenya has announced the launch of BiasharaLink and Deal House, two interconnected digital trade platforms designed to empower African embassies as transaction-enabling hubs for trade and investment, marking a new phase of digitally driven economic diplomacy across the continent.
Launched at a high-level reception in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the landmark initiative is a significant step towards operationalising the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by transforming how trade deals are originated and executed.
The launch, which was attended by senior government officials, representatives of the African Union (AU), ambassadors, multilateral development institutions, and private sector leaders, comes against the backdrop of the 39th AU Summit where heads of state are prioritising practical, execution-focused trade solutions to unlock the full potential of the AfCFTA.
The digital platforms, developed by Real Sources Africa – a pan-African trade-infrastructure institution which serves as Kenya’s AfCFTA Trading Company, were designed to close the continent’s trade execution gap.
Leveraging on technology, the platforms seek to harness the commercial potential of more than 1000 diplomatic missions across the continent – transforming traditional embassies into proactive originators and facilitators of commercially viable deals.
The innovative technology marks the first coordinated effort between policymakers and private sector leaders to unlock the untapped commercial potential of African embassies, translating the ambitions of Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want into tangible progress through deeper regional integration, enhanced trade cooperation and shared prosperity.
The initiative places particular emphasis on empowering SMEs and women-led businesses to access new markets, execute cross-border transactions and scale their participation in intra-African commerce. Speaking at the launch, H.E Dr. Musalia Mudavadi, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, said: “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.”
Wamkele Mene, Secretary General, AfCFTA, added: “As the world is moving ever closer to supply chain disruptions and increased industrial protectionism, our continent is moving in the opposite direction. We have no alternative but to succeed; we have to build a very strong domestic market.”
BiasharaLink is a digital system that allows diplomatic missions, exporters, investors, and market actors to formally capture, structure, and track trade and investment opportunities aligned with AfCFTA priorities.
Deal House serves as the execution layer: Opportunities generated through BiasharaLink are validated, matched with credible counterparties, connected to financing, and progressed toward contract execution.
Together, they aim to close the continent’s persistent execution gap – moving beyond policy frameworks toward real deals that create jobs, connect markets and strengthen cross-border value chains.
Felix Chege, founder and CEO, Real Sources Africa, said: “We realised that our embassies collect 3,500 trade enquiries a month, but the closure rate of deals was less than 1pc. Our main goal is to build the infrastructure and ecosystems that can drive trade, investment and financing to move this continent forward.”
James Mwangi, CEO, Equity Group Holdings, said: “We are witnessing a partnership between government and private sector to establish a trade superhighway. When you do a deep dive into the solutions you see these platforms are the day to day machinery that enable enquiries to turn into bankable and trackable deals.”
Mathias Kamp, Regional Director, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, said: “The AfCFTA needs to move to the next level. 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.”
The launch of the digital trade platforms signals the Government of Kenya’s commitment to advancing a new model of economic diplomacy – one that is digital, execution-focused, and designed to convert policy ambition into real commercial outcomes.
This decisive role in the initiative reflects the President William Ruto’s visionary leadership as the Chair of the AU Assembly Committee of Head of State and Government on the AfCFTA implementation and the Co-champion of the Digital Trade Protocol.
The event in Addis Ababa comes on the eve of a pre-AU Summit committee convened to review progress and assess key milestones in the implementation of the AfCFTA, with trade execution a priority.
