Malawi will be one of the beneficiaries of a Digital Free Trade Area (DFTA), a development worth $17.2 billion, which will be shared with Comesa members. The Comesa DFTA involves a number of digital instruments to support trade among Comesa member states, including an electronic certificate of origin, underpinned by block chain technology and a mobile application for cross-border traders.

Comesa announced in November 2017 that its secretariat had designed the digital free trade area and that an electronic certification arrangement was ready for use, as Comesa Director of Trade and Customs, Francis Mangeni, confirmed that the DFTA will launch soon.

Meanwhile the 30th of May marked the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), a development that will see the agreement’s members remove tariffs on 90% of goods, thereby allowing free access to goods and services across the Africa.