But wh ile Green Scooter is going from strength to strength today, Dhlamini overcame significant challenges to get to this stage.
“Green Scooter was founded to create an efficient tool that can move people, that can move goods, that can take away the pains of high trans port costs.”
Fezile Dhlamini Founder & CEO | Green Scooter
Unlocking Africa’s potential
“Africa has so much potential,” says Dhlamini. It’s rich in resources – including the minerals required to build EV batteries. It has the world’s youngest population, ready to work. And many are highly qualified.
But the continent has historically been hampered by high tariffs, disjointed regulations, fragmen ted supply chains, and lack of capital access.
Dhlamini himself faced 370 funding rejections before his first ‘yes’. And African businesses often complain i t is cheaper to ship to the US than across national borders, such as between Ghana and Uganda. As a result, intra-African trade only accounts for around 16% of co ntinental activity.
Things are beginning to change, however. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is set to phase out tariffs on 90% of goods by 2030, and initiatives like the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) are helping businesses like Green Scooter make the most of the international oppor tunities enabled by the AfCFTA.
“Africa is a goldmine of untapped opportunities across multiple sectors, and IATF has proven to be the ultimate catalyst in unlocking them,” Dhlamini explains.
“Africa is a goldmine of untapped opportunities across multiple sectors, and IATF has proven to be the ultimate catalyst in unlocking them.”
Fezile Dhlamini Founder & CEO | Green Scooter
“IATF played a critical role by centralizing access, connecting me directly with Afreximbank, and helping refine transactions that might oth erwise have stalled.”
Fezile Dhlamini Founder & CEO | Green Scooter
Bringing African businesses together
The IATF is a biennial trade fair hosted by Afreximbank, the African Union Commission, and the AfCFTA Secretariat. Its m ost recent edition took place in September 2025 in Algiers, Algeria, attracting over 2,000 exhibitors from more than 75 countries.
The event aims to boost i ntra-African trade by bringing buyers, suppliers, businesses, and governments together to explore cross-border opportunities – particularly in light of the AfCFTA . One of its central elements is the African Buyers Programme, which proactively matchmakes buyers and suppliers from across the continent.
Dhlamini was part of this initiative at the 2023 IATF in Cairo. Having identified 20 leads, seven turned into tangible r elationships, including deals to supply vehicles to Nigeria and Zambia, and a feasibility study for entering the UAE.
“IATF played a critical role by centra lizing access, connecting me directly with Afreximbank, and helping refine transactions that might otherwise have stalled,” he explains. The pan-African import-ex port institution helped guide him through negotiating the seven deals made through the IATF, and has made a formal commitment to “take ownership of additional dea ls.
”These connections are having a profound impact, with Dhlamini crediting them for helping Green Scooter’s supply chain to be “resilient, adaptive, and b uilt for exponential growth.”
Unifying a $3.5 trillion market
The AfCFTA inaugurated an integrated African market of 1.4 billion people with a combined GDP of $3.5 trillion. Success stories like Green Scooter demonst rate how even small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can harness that opportunity, and the importance of events like the IATF – and institutions like Afreximba nk – in accessing the market.
As he continues to expand Green Scooter’s horizons, Dhlamini implores his fellow entrepreneurs to attend the 2027 IATF in Lago s, Nigeria. “It remains the fastest gateway into Africa’s supply chain and a crucial platform for building the continent’s future.”
Unifying a $3.5 trillion market
The AfCFTA inaugurated an integrated African market of 1.4 billion people with a combined GDP of $3.5 trillion. Success stories like Green Scooter demonstrate how even small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can harness that opportunity, and the importance of events like the IATF – and institutions like Afreximbank – in a ccessing the market.
As he continues to expand Green Scooter’s horizons, Dhlamini implores his fellow entrepreneurs to attend the 2027 IATF in Lagos, Nigeri a. “It remains the fastest gateway into Africa’s supply chain and a crucial platform for building the continent’s future.”
