Triangular cooperation is increasingly shaping discussions on how to accelerate development and integration across the Global South, particularly in efforts to deepen intra-African trade.

The model brings together developing countries working through South-South cooperation, supported by a third partner such as a development agency, international organisation, or developed country.

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It is often described as a partnership built on shared responsibility and joint problem-solving, where each actor contributes experience, technical expertise, financing or coordination.

In Africa's trade landscape, the approach is gaining traction as countries confront what experts call the "hidden cost of fragmented systems," a mix of duplicated taxes, inconsistent regulations and weak cross-border infrastructure that continues to slow commerce.

Experts say the gap is not a lack of ambition, or even a lack of demand. It is that the systems needed to make integration work are still catching up.

Maxwell Gomera, UNDP Resident Representative in South Africa and Director of the Africa Sustainable Finance Hub, observed that businesses moving across African borders still face multiple layers of taxation, differing customs procedures, non-tariff barriers and limited interoperability between national digital systems.

"These frictions raise costs, slow trade and hit smaller firms hardest," he said, pointing to payments as a striking example of where the system is failing traders.

"Cross-border payments in Africa can still be expensive, slow and cumbersome. That is not a trade problem. It is a systems problem. And it falls hardest on exactly the traders and businesses the AfCFTA is designed to help," he noted.

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Gomera highlighted that trust is also a major challenge, particularly when cooperation depends on sharing sensitive data across borders.

"Modern trade increasingly runs on data. But countries are understandably cautious about where sensitive information is stored, who can access it, and how it is protected," he explained.

"The issue is not simply political will. It is whether we can build secure systems, clear rules and trusted institutions that allow countries to cooperate with confidence," he added.

Gomera also indicated that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides the policy framework for integration, but its success will ultimately depend on implementation.

"The AfCFTA gives Africa the architecture. The hard work now is wiring the building. That means customs systems that speak to each other, digital platforms that are interoperable, regulators that coordinate, and institutions that can turn agreements into daily practice for businesses and citizens," he said.

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Triangular cooperation

Gomera said this is where South-South and triangular cooperation can make a practical difference.

"Triangular cooperation should not replace African-led integration. It should help make it work. It can bring countries, institutions and partners together around practical problems such as digital trade infrastructure, data governance, regulatory alignment, customs modernisation and capacity building," he noted.

Doudou Sow, the Ambassador of Senegal to Rwanda, said triangular cooperation should not be viewed through the traditional donor-recipient lens.

The role of the third partner, he said, is not to oversee or dictate solutions, but to contribute experience and expertise while working alongside developing countries as an equal partner.

"Some development challenges may have already been addressed by more developed countries. When they join South-South cooperation, they do not come as masters telling us what to do. They come to share their experience and contribute to finding solutions that fit the local context," he said.

He stressed that triangular cooperation differs from traditional aid models because all partners are expected to contribute knowledge, expertise and resources, while also benefiting from the collaboration.