AfCFTA is the African Continental Free Trade Area which aims to break down barriers between the 55 African countries and attract investment for the development of Africa.
The #AfCFTA came into force on January 1, 2021. According to World Bank estimates, once fully implemented, the trade agreement will allow countries on the continent to achieve an additional income gain of 9%, or 570 billion dollars and lift 50 million people out of poverty by 2035.
Indeed, Africa is still the economic zone that trades the least with itself. Intra-African trade is estimated at around 15%. As for the continent as a whole, it represents only 3% of international trade.
One of AfCFTA’s priority objectives is to restructure the economies of countries by emphasizing the processing of raw materials in producing countries.
The agreement provides for the liberalization of financial and telecommunications services as well as the development of sectors related to industrialization such as transport and logistics.
A single African market of 1.3 billion consumers, with a total GDP of 3,400 billion dollars: this is what the AfCFTA will represent
This potential will undoubtedly encourage the foreign direct investment (FDI) needed for Africa to diversify into new industries, such as agribusiness, manufacturing and digital services.
For me, this is a real opportunity. With AfCFTA, Africa invites African countries to do business with each other and with the world!
You believe it, do you?
