Enabling the AfCFTA and Advancing Agenda 2063 through the African Entity Identifier (AEI) and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
By Maureen Mba
Trust is the foundation of trade, and for Africa, building that trust at scale is critical to unlocking the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, and advancing the African Union’s Agenda 2063. For decades, fragmented identification systems, high compliance costs, information asymmetry and persistent risk perceptions have limited the continent’s ability to trade seamlessly and attract sustained investment.
Afreximbank, through its MANSA Digital Initiative, is addressing these barriers by creating a trusted digital infrastructure designed to underpin intra-African and trade with the rest of world. Central to this effort, are the African Entity Identifier (AEI) and AI-powered compliance solutions delivered through MANSA’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Managed Services, both of which are transforming how Africa builds credibility, transparency, and efficiency in its financial systems.
The MANSA Digital Platform, launched in 2018 and operational since 2020, serves as a trusted digital Know Your Customer (KYC) repository for verified African businesses. Embedded and built on the MANSA Digital Repository Platform, the AEI, provides a single, standardised identity for enterprises across the continent, helping trading participants overcome the fragmented systems, that have long complicated cross-border trade. Each AEI code signifies that an entity has undergone a rigorous Know-Your-Customer and due diligence process, aligned with global best practice and regulatory standards.
Through Afreximbank’s partnership with the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), the AEI connects African enterprises to the global financial ecosystem, enhancing credibility and recognition beyond regional borders. The AEI is helping to strengthen investor confidence and accelerate the onboarding of African entities into formal trade networks. With more than 80% of verified entities being small and medium-sized enterprises, the AEI is also serving as a catalyst for financial inclusion, giving Africa’s entrepreneurs the digital identity they need to access new markets and funding opportunities.
Identity verification, however, is only part of the equation. Many African banks and fintechs continue to grapple with compliance systems that are outdated, rules-based, and prone to high false-positive rates, that waste valuable time and resources while failing to detect complex, emerging inherent risks. To address this, MANSA launched its AI-powered AML Managed Services, a suite of solutions designed to enhance compliance and risk management across the financial ecosystem. By integrating advanced machine learning models into existing systems, the platform enables institutions to improve oversight, reduce false positives, and detect hidden risks that traditional systems often miss. This means greater regulatory confidence improved operational efficiency, and lower costs; results that make compliance not only more robust, also more practical for institutions operating in diverse African markets. When combined with AEI’s verified digital identities, these AI-driven capabilities form a comprehensive compliance ecosystem, that both safeguards financial integrity and enables faster, trusted transactions.
The impact of MANSA’s work is already visible. The Digital Repository Platform has seen a surge in verified entities, growing by nearly 48 per cent in the past year to reach more than 38,000 enterprises, the majority of them SMEs. This is projected to surpass 50,000 by the end of 2025, reflecting the growing confidence in digital verification across Africa. Engagement with regulators and policymakers has also deepened. At Afreximbank’s 32nd Annual Meetings in Abuja in June 2025, Banco de Moçambique became the thirteenth central bank to sign the MANSA Verifier Charter, while nine more central banks are currently in active discussions to join. MANSA’s commitment to information security has been reinforced through its successful completion of the second ISO Surveillance Audit with zero non-conformities, reaffirming compliance with global standards, covering information security, business continuity, service management, and data privacy.
The African Entity Identifier and AI-backed AML Managed Services represent more than digital innovation; they demonstrate how Afreximbank is delivering on its mandate to promote intra-African trade, strengthen financial integrity, and accelerate integration into the global economy. Together, they establish a foundation of trust, transparency, and accountability that will allow African enterprises to operate on equal footing in international markets. As MANSA continues to expand its reach, it is building the infrastructure for an Africa where trade flows freely, investment risk is mitigated, and technology empowers every business to grow. In doing so, Afreximbank is supporting the AfCFTA’s vision of a single, competitive African market a reality, and to advance the broader goal of Agenda 2063: a united, prosperous, and globally connected Africa built on trust and transparency.
Ms. Maureen Mba is the Head MANSA Solutions at African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)
