Browsing: African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)

The report indicated that AfCFTA has the potential to attract greater FDI, required for Africa to diversify into new industries such as agribusiness, manufacturing and services. The report projects that this could create 18 million new jobs by 2035, with 2.5 per cent of the continent’s workers moving to new industries. In addition, more significant FDI could raise Africa’s exports to 32 per cent by 2035, with intra-African exports growing by 109 per cent, especially in the manufactured goods sectors. All countries will record an intra-African export increase, such as Tunisia by 165%, Cameroon by 144%, Ghana by 132%, Tanzania by 126% and South Africa by 61%.

Breaking trade barriers will increase investment and export sectors likely to grow the most: textiles and apparel, rubber, chemical and plastic products, and processed foods. Deeper integration would lower trade costs and boost capital inflows, bolstering exports from service sectors such as communication, …

The AfCFTA Agreement has been signed by 54 African nations thus far.  Among them, 46 tariff proposals have been filed, including one by the Customs Union. Furthermore, 29 tariff proposals are technically validated for trade.

Under the Rules of Origin discussions, 87.7% of import tariffs have been settled, while phase two consultations on Investment, Intellectual Property Rights, Competition Policy, Women and Youth in Trade, and Digital Trade are underway.…

AfCFTA facilitates better access to trade across the continent for all Commonwealth citizens in member states; being one of world’s largest trading blocs. During her visit to Kenya in 2018, SG Scotland noted that, “AfCFTA gives the perfect platform to facilitate trade across the Commonwealth. Nineteen members of the AU are part of the Commonwealth family, the protocol is groundbreaking news because research shows, that when Commonwealth countries trade with each other, its 19 per cent cheaper and this is the Commonwealth Advantage.”

The combined GDP of Commonwealth countries, with a total population of over 2.4B, is now around $13 trillion and is estimated to reach $19.5 trillion in 2027. “With intra-Commonwealth trade expected to surpass $700 billion in 2022, and Commonwealth countries comprising a number of free trade zones including the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Commonwealth Business Forum, provided a valuable opportunity to capitalize on global …

READ ALSO: Why the African free trade area could be the game-changer for the continent& economies

Why Are Micro And Small Business A Subject Of Concern?

According to the World Bank, SMEs make up 90% of businesses in the world and cover more than 50% of the world’s employment. Formal small businesses contribute significantly to GDP. This contribution to GDP is significantly amplified when the informal sector is taken …

Rwanda is moving to cement its position as the financial capital of Africa by drawing in different investments and partnerships.  Such partnerships include developing Kigali as a financial hub through the Kigali International Finance Centre, a hub supported by government-owned Rwanda Finance.

CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, in June signed a partnership agreement with Rwanda Finance to support the development of a new international financial capital for Africa.

The Kigali International Financial Center (KIFC) is intended to be a world-class financial hub, designed to promote inward investment and the creation of thousands of highly skilled financial sector jobs for the benefit of Rwanda and the African continent.

This partnership will see CDC provide the expertise that will help shape a strong legal and regulatory framework that is designed to attract institutional investors seeking to finance African businesses through a world-class financial center.

Rwanda Finance was …

The launch of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) has been pushed from its initial date of July 1 to January next year due to COVID-19 pandemic.

AfCFTA’s Secretary-General Wamkele Mene said that the market is not conducive for the launch considering more than 42 countries out of 55 countries in Africa’s continent are under lockdown and the containment measures are complicating intra-trade.

Speaking to private sector players during a webinar organized by Africa CEO’s forum, Mr Mene said the decision to push forward the launch was made after wide consultation.

“Suspension of the implementation of AfCFTA from July 1 was not my decision but that of African Union Heads of States. I advised the assembly on the reality, facts, science and data on the ground on the situation of Covid-19. The decision of the new date, which also depends on how quick the pandemic is contained, was widely …

There has never been a better time to invest in Africa, says South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

He said the continent’s governments are committed to creating the necessary enabling environment for business to flourish. Calling on the investor community to “harness the climate of reform” sweeping the continent and “take advantage of its momentum,” he said: “there has never been a better time to invest in Africa”.

Ramaphosa was speaking at the Financial Times Africa Summit in London, where other speakers included former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

The launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area will “bring together into a single market 54 nations of some 1.2 billion people and a combined GDP of over $3 trillion,” Ramaphosa said.

He compared its significance for Africa to the 1992 Maastricht Treaty which created “a new era of European cooperation and integration”. This follows the enabling African Continental Free Trade …

There have also been gloomier syndicated loans and bilateral debts, many to China, which has over USD60 billion on offer and tied to big construction projects.…