Beyond Borders: Online Dispute Resolution and the Transformation of Cross-Border Commercial Arbitration in Africa

The rapid growth of digital commerce across Africa has exposed a structural gap in the continent's dispute resolution architecture. Traditional arbitration, constrained by geography, cost, and procedural formality, is ill-equipped to handle the volume and character of commercial disputes arising from cross-border digital trade. This article examines how Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) is transforming cross-border commercial arbitration in Africa, with particular focus on Nigeria. It traces the conceptual foundations of ODR, analyses the emerging legislative frameworks, most notably Nigeria's Arbitration and Mediation Act 2023 and the National Policy on Arbitration and ADR 2024, and evaluates how these interact with continental instruments such as the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol 2024. The article identifies the principal challenges facing ODR adoption in Africa, including infrastructural deficits, enforcement uncertainty, and questions of due process, before proposing a reform agenda anchored in harmonization, institutional capacity, and technology investment. The article concludes that ODR is not a peripheral innovation but a strategic necessity for Africa's commercial future.