Browsing: African Continental Free Trade Area

The US has administered close to 300 million Covid-19 vaccine doses in comparison to the less than 50 million doses administered in the entire African continent. 

Data from the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) shows that the US which is used as a benchmark by many African nations is doing far better but there are many factors favouring this including but not limited to manufacturing and transport logistics. …

AfCFTA Secretary General Wamkele Mene notes that a uniform payments platform will eliminate the costly process on converting currencies which contributes to the inefficient trade patterns on the continent.

In addition to this good news, the Covid-19 pandemic was a silver lining for Africa’s integration since the continent has to create its own solutions to its problems. As such, Africa needs not only to harmonise its financial systems but also step up productive and infrastructural integration.…

Ghana is estimated to have produced about 812 thousand tonnes of cocoa beans in 2018/2019.…

Trade in the energy sector in Africa will be more lucrative to foreign and local investors if they identify that energy trading within the African continent is a low cost and high return venture less expensive but with high returns. …

While the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has become a reality, developing robust infrastructure is crucial to its operationalisation and success. 

For maximum benefit, member states to the trade agreement must be connected physically and digitally through hard infrastructure and connected in the harmonisation and coordination of processes through soft infrastructure. 

The pact connecting 1.3 billion people across the 55 African countries with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) valued at US$3.4 trillion faces huge challenges that need quick responses. These responses range from the dependence of African economies on commodity production and exports, the lack of diversification which has caused a mismatch between supply and demand, tariffs and non-tariff barriers (NTBs), inefficient transport infrastructure and poor trade logistics to high-security risk among others.…

The largest global free trade area by countries is poised to transform Africa’s economic prospects and it could not have come at a more interesting time.

For reasons I won’t get into in this article, the world has witnessed a tremendous rise in populism, protectionism and nationalism. Popular choices in key economies have shifted the status quo bringing into question well-established political and economic powerhouses. With the arrival of the pandemic, trust in governments across the world has diminished and weak leaders in developed economies have found theirselves exposed.

In my view, these elements ironically created a perfect storm for the launch of AfCFTA, the African Continental Free Trade Area. Global trade is going through deep changes either for fears of infection or due to concepts of self economic preservation in smaller developed countries. Border enforcement across the world is shifting on a daily basis and there’s a real …

With the start of trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement on January 1, 2021, the continent turned a historic page towards modernising Africa’s economy. 

With 34 African countries having created the largest free trade zone in the world by country participation, it is still too early to gauge how the AfCFTA will affect the different facets of the economy including sports and entertainment. 

The AfCFTA is the beginning of what many hope will form a workable framework for a modern African economy, at the very least. …

The African Union agenda 2063 is on course. After some delays due to covid, the African continental free trade area has become a reality. As part of the free trade area, the African Union passport will be availed this year. The passport launched in 2016 had been available only for diplomats and AU officials. It will now be rolled out to ordinary citizens of the African Union. 

What will an African Passport mean? 

The rationale for the passport is for African citizens to be able to cross all borders on African soil without a visa. The passport will facilitate easier movement for people to ease trade relations.

As African countries strengthen ties and seek to reap strength in numbers, the passport will spell an easier transition into seamless trade on the continent. 

Modelled along the lines of the European Union passport, the passport will be biometric to prevent fraud and …

Small-scale cross border trade is highly relevant in eradicating poverty and hunger…

The Trans African Railway says it works with existing and pending railway infrastructure companies to integrate into an interconnecting network to achieve strategic advantages…