South Africa’s historic G20 presidency under the theme “Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability” presents an unprecedented opportunity to address fragmented support systems hindering African trade and investment. This study examines the specific challenges faced by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Intra-African trade remains at only 14%, compared to 68% in intra- European trade and 59% intra-Asian trade. This is primarily due to inconsistent regulations and customs procedures, as well as policies across borders. Supporting institutions also have limited visibility on which companies are interested in engaging in international projects. With a majority of exporting and international companies being SMEs, it is difficult for these institutions and facilitators to scale their support to hundreds of thousands of enterprises in need of trade assistance. Africa’s untapped export potential is estimated at $21.9 billion, of which the potential for intra-African trade is $9.2 billion through the African Continental Free Trade Area. Fragmented support systems, such as disparate information and inefficient processes, increase transaction costs and limit SMEs’ market access. The G20 can play a catalytic role in facilitating collaboration between African nations, international development partners, and SMEs. Increased intra-African trade would also present benefits for G20 economies by diversifying trade partnerships and improving global value chains. This policy brief calls on the G20 to prioritise intra-African trade initiatives to foster inclusive growth, support the global trading system, and create better economic opportunities. It offers six actionable, SME-centred recommendations that contribute to trade reform objectives by strengthening trade infrastructure, aligning national and regional policy frameworks, and enabling more inclusive engagement with global trade rules.