Why greater adoption of GS1 standards is key to achieving Africa’s trade potential

Did you know that an estimated 6-10 billion barcodes are scanned across the world every day?

GS1 South Africa - official supplier of barcodes in the country, emphasizes how important it is for trade that this standard is uniform, particularly on the African continent where countries are still lagging behind.

"GS1 is a neutral, global network that brings industries, government, academia, regulators, and associations together with collaborative platforms to develop solution-based standards that address the challenges of modern data exchange for each unique business sector."

At the GS1 Indaba 2026 just held on the East Rand in Gauteng, panelist Michael Sudarkasa said while Africa’s trade opportunity is real, it is trust that will determine if this opportunity is fully realised. 

As cross-border trade grows, so does the need for stronger standards, clearer traceability and more confidence in the products moving through the value chain.

GS1 SA says the discussion highlighted that ‘Made in South Africa’ already carries weight in global markets, but sustaining that reputation requires systems that support quality, safety and transparency from upstream production through to the final product:

"As the conversation made clear, standards harmonisation is not a technical side issue. It is a practical enabler of regional competitiveness."

Company CEO Zinhle Tyikwe explains how barcodes are generated, and why they are so important.

"Whenever an individual comes and buys a barcode from us, we take the information about the product, about the brand owners, and about the location of where this product was produced. That ensures that, already, there is trusted information being captured, using a standard... So, when a retailer puts your product on its shelves, they can check the certifications which are already digitally captured for them."

Why GS1 SA says Africa's trade system is at a turning point is because so many countries on the continent still have different systems and follow different standards, Tyikwe says.

GS1 standard adoption is currently sitting at just over 30%, not even 25 countries, she explains.

"67% have not adopted it, which means they're not following the standard that South Africa is following. And why is it a global standard? Because the information is captured in the same way - here in SA, in the US, in Iraq... everywhere in the world where GS1 is present, which is 120 countries globally."

She uses the recent flurry of product recalls in South Africa as an illustration of how important it is that our own government mandates the use of the GS1 standard.

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to this enlightening conversation