Africa Prosperity Network Pushes for Visa-Free Africa

The Africa Prosperity Network is intensifying calls for a visa-free Africa as momentum grows across the continent for freer movement, trade and regional integration.

In a statement issued ahead of the second edition of the Make Africa Borderless Now Webinar, the network highlighted recent decisions by African governments to ease travel restrictions for African citizens.

Just last week, Togo became the sixth African country to offer visa-free travel to all Africans holding valid passports, adding new momentum to continental efforts to improve mobility and economic cooperation.

At the same time, Ghana is set to officially implement its visa-free policy for African citizens beginning May 25, coinciding with Africa Union Day 2026. The move fulfils a commitment first announced during the 2024 Africa Prosperity Dialogues in Accra and will also include the rollout of an electronic visa application system for other international travellers.

According to APN, these measures are expected to significantly boost tourism, business travel, investment and regional connectivity.

The webinar, scheduled for Monday at 14:00 GMT, will bring together policymakers, business leaders, academics, civil society representatives and youth advocates to discuss practical solutions for advancing African free movement and economic integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area framework.

The discussions will also focus on the economic and social impact of restrictive migration systems and “Afrophobia,” while examining how freer movement can support entrepreneurship, skills mobility, tourism and intra-African trade.

APN said the event forms part of its wider campaign to accelerate implementation of the African Union Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment.

Despite the protocol being adopted in 2018, only four African countries have ratified it so far.

Speaking ahead of the event, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, Founder and Executive Chairman of APN, said momentum for a borderless Africa is beginning to gain real traction.

“Africa cannot build a genuine single market while Africans remain strangers to one another at the borders of their own continent,” he said, stressing that visa-free policies, digital travel systems and open skies are essential to unlocking Africa’s economic potential.

The webinar will feature senior African Union officials, development experts, business leaders and civil society figures, including former African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

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 said signatures gathered through its Make Africa Borderless Now campaign will be presented to African Union leaders during the 40th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly in Addis Ababa in February 2027.