One of the biggest changes to UK’s trade arrangements with Africa is to allow British firms to build more supply chains across the continent.
A new regional cumulation arrangement covering 50 African countries since 1 January 2026 allows qualifying goods to be sourced, processed and combined across different African markets and still benefit from preferential access to the UK.
The change could be particularly helpful to companies looking to diversify their sourcing strategies and cut their reliance on certain markets. Instead of having to sustain production or sourcing in one country, firms could spread different elements of their supply chains across a range of African economies, while maintaining preferential access to the British market.
Still, while the rules may make trade more flexible, doing business across Africa remains a practical challenge.
Finding good local partners, understanding customs and regulatory requirements, organizing cross-border transport and protecting commercial interests can all be big obstacles for companies entering new markets.
This is where UK trade and growth advisory Anglia Xchange sees an opportunity.
Bridging the gap between UK companies and African markets
The new firm is designed to help British businesses translate market access into real commercial activity.
Anglia Xchange helps companies with partner identification, due diligence, customs and compliance, cross border logistics and commercial agreements. It trades and brokers commodities, handles import and export logistics, manages agricultural supply chains and develops renewable energy.
The company can be involved for a single introduction or stay involved for a whole project, from the very first identification of an opportunity, thru due diligence, negotiations, implementation and final delivery.
It now has a network across 12 African markets – including Nigeria, South Africa, Gabon, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda – with further partnerships and connections elsewhere on the continent.
Not just introductions
Anglia Xchange is headed by Olu Abdulkareem, Senior Director, Markets & Business Expansion with over 20 years’ experience in international law and global business development and commercial expansion in Africa.
He has worked in oil and gas, manufacturing, steel, mining and infrastructure sectors.
You can see that experience in the way the firm goes to market. Anglia Xchange does not just introduce British companies to potential partners, it works on the legal and commercial basis of each transaction.
We review contracts, leases and memorandums of understanding to ensure that British business interests are properly protected as commercial activity begins.
The company’s leadership has also had to negotiate tough deals involving international businesses and African stakeholders.
In one case in Gabon, Abdulkareem helped secure a multi-million dollar contract for a European firm after talks with local stakeholders collapsed. He worked with diplomatic representatives and the relevant government authorities to get the negotiations back on track and resolve the dispute, saving both the contract and the wider commercial relationship.
In another project he assembled a series of embassy-backed business events in various African countries. These events linked a UK financial services company with British expats in need of specialist pension advice and created significant new commercial opportunities.
Relationships remain key to Africa’s growth
Abdulkareem says the UK’s new trading arrangements are an opportunity, but success or failure for companies will not come down to regulations alone.
The UK’s new trading arrangements provide a real opportunity for British business to build stronger commercial links across Africa,” said Abdulkareem.
“But success in Africa requires a lot more than knowing the rules. “It’s about trusted relationships, due diligence, local knowledge and the ability to execute well on the ground,”
Anglia Xchange combines British commercial standards and established African networks to give companies more confidence to expand into new markets, he said.
The firm is targeted at companies making their first foray into Africa, and those already on the continent who want to expand.
It is active in manufacturing, agriculture, renewable energy, aviation, fintech, logistics and professional services.
Greater African involvement in UK supply chains
The new trading framework comes as British businesses look for growth and stronger supply chains outside of traditional markets.
Companies can now organize their international operations so they have greater choice, and qualifying goods can move thru production and sourcing networks across multiple African countries, yet still benefit from preferential access to the UK.
But for firms new to the region, turning that flexibility into a working supply chain will take a whole lot more than the trade rules themselves.
Local knowledge, trusted relationships, regulatory expertise, logistics capabilities and careful commercial planning will continue to be critical.
Anglia Xchange wants to be at that junction, giving British business the chance to build connections that can grow into secure, sustainable commercial operations across the continent.
The message is simple. Getting into Africa is not necessarily the hard part. There is a long term business to be built there and it will be successful.
