The AfCFTA is a big step towards the dream of economic unity across Africa, and the fact that it has moved towards entry into force in a relatively short time period shows the dynamic of goodwill for such measures across Africa. However, it is just one part of the process. We look briefly below at the process of trade reforms that has now begun with the Treaty (2) as well as the way forward, with the potentially thorny issues of competition, intellectual property and in particular the possibility for investors to enforce their rights under the treaty – which alone has already provoked much discussion – still to be negotiated (3). Key changes:  the AfCFTA Agreement has begun the creation of the African single continental market  The AfCFTA Agreement consists of four main sets of rules aimed at enabling the creation of a single continental market for Africa: An overarching agreement that sets out the AfCFTA's institutional structure. It provides, inter alia, that the AfCFTA will be administered by four bodies, namely: (1) the Assembly (which will have the exclusive authority to interpret the AfCFTA Agreement); (2) the Council of Ministers (which will be responsible for the effective implementation and enforcement of the AfCFTA Agreement); (3) the Committee of Senior Trade Officials (which will consist of permanent officials responsible for the monitoring of the AfCFTA); and (4) the Secretariat (whose role and responsibilities remain to be defined by the Council of Ministers). A Protocol on Trade in Goods that sets...

The Gambia has become the 22nd nation to ratify the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the number required for the agreement to take effect. While this marks a significant step towards the continent’s ambition to create a single market, the free trade area will face a bumpy road to full implementation. The news of the Gambia’s approval comes one year after leaders of 44 countries first signed the free trade agreement into life in Kigali in what was described as a historic moment for Africa. Since then, another eight countries have joined the agreement. AfCFTA comes with big ambitions: if fully implemented, it will create a single African market for goods and services, covering 1.2 billion people and a GDP of US$2.5tn across 55 member states of the African Union. According to the African Union, the agreement has the potential to boost intra-African trade by 53% by eliminating import duties, and to double trade on the continent if non-tariff barriers are also reduced. Such a growth in intra-regional trade could boost the diversification of Africa’s revenues significantly, which in turn will help develop its local economies, according to Moody’s. The credit ratings agency also expects that AfCFTA will lead to improved credit profiles “given the greater stability and sophistication that intra-regional trade can offer”. While most of the continent has signed up to the deal, each nation still needs to ratify it. With 22 countries having now completed this process, AfCFTA is ready to be put into action by the African Union. “I cannot...

On 1 April 2019, the Board of the African Development Bank approved an institutional support grant of $4.8 million to the African Union (AU) to accelerate the momentum of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA), which received its 22nd ratification on 2 April, bringing the agreement into force. The AfCFTA is a major force for continental integration. It will expand intra-African trade by up to $35 billion per year and usher in freedom of movement for goods, services and people across the continent’s internal borders, with a regime of reduced tariffs and non-tariff barriers to cut the cost of doing business on the continent. It will also boost agriculture and industrial exports by up to $66 billion per year. The Bank’s grant is targeted at laying the institutional foundations for the AfCFTA implementation secretariat and the roll out of the implementation programmes. “The momentum is now in full swing”, said Andoh Mensah, Manager, Trade and Investment Climate Division at the African Development Bank, “It is now crucial to establish a robust, efficient, purpose-driven secretariat, capable of addressing improved stakeholder engagement, inclusiveness and ownership in the AfCFTA implementation”. The grant will also assist efforts towards full ratification of the agreement by all AU member states including the application of tariff reductions and related commitments, while generating stakeholder support for the AfCFTA to ensure inclusiveness and common ownership.  This is a decisive response to the call by African political leaders for the Bank and other partners to support the AU Commission and...

The third edition of the China Trade Week (CTW), a “One Belt, One Road” initiative inspired event will take place in Ethiopia from May 2 to 4 at the Millennium Hall in Addis Ababa. MIE Groups, the founder of the conference will host the three-day event in collaboration with the Ethiopian Prana Events. Established in 2013, China Trade Week had its first event in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which was warmly welcomed by the local business community, it was followed by the first African event in Kenya in 2015 which had an even bigger response. It later debuted in Ethiopia in 2017. The trade fair seeks to pull over 100 investors and exhibitors from sectors including construction materials and machinery, lighting and energy, clothing and textiles, electrical goods and electronics, automotive parts and accessories, health and beauty, print, packaging and plastic, baby and infant products and food and beverage. Commenting on the trade fair, Zahoor Ahmed, Director International Events, MIE Groups said, “We look forward to welcoming thousands of professionals to this year’s CTW Ethiopia, at a time when the country is going through significant positive economic and regional changes.” The Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce & Sectorial Associations Secretary-General, Africa Zeleke added, “The chamber decided to partner with this trade fare as China remains the biggest market for many Ethiopian goods exported. This includes 70 per cent of our sesame. Also, the majority of our goods are imported from China and we want to narrow the gap of the...

EAST African Business Council (EABC) has partnered with the International Trade Centre (ITC) to enhance capacity in advocacy for removal of trade barriers and enhancement of export competitiveness. Under the four-year European Union (EU)- EAC Market Access Upgrade Programme (MARKUP), the new partnership will support the EABC to improve the capacity of the private sector and trade supporting institutions on the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in East Africa to remove trade barriers. “It is undisputable fact that TFA is increasingly becoming an important tool for countries to improve their business environment through initiation of various trade facilitation reforms,” EABC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Mathuki said during an official opening of the regional training on trade facilitation. Seeking to build capacity of the East African Private Sector, EABC in collaboration with ITC initiated the regional training of trainers (ToT) programme to widely disseminate standardised training model for the private sector on WTOTFA. The regional training brought together representatives from the national private sector apex bodies and Trade Supporting Institutions (TSIs) across the EAC region. TFA came into force in February 2017 after the mandatory two-thirds of the WTO members ratified and notified its acceptance. The objective of the WTO TFA is to lower trade barriers around the world and facilitate expansive global trade. ITC Representative Victoria Tuomisto who is conducting the training for Masters of Trainers on TFA in collaboration with EAC witnessed the signing of Memorandum of Understanding. Delays and red tape are among impediments...

Economic growth in East Africa outperforms peers at close to 7 percent, the regional economic outlook reports of the African Development Bank (AfDB) show, putting growth in other region on a positive but cautious scale. The bank launched four of its five regional economic outlook reports this week in Abuja, Yaoundé, Nairobi and Pretoria, with forecasts for Central, West, East and Southern Africa. AfDB envisions that the East Africa, with an estimated growth of 5.9 percent in 2019 and 6.1 percent in 2020, will soon be an attractive destination for foreign investment in the continent. The region is expected to expand on the back of improved services sector performance in Tanzania and Kenya, higher agricultural output and bettered consumption. Ethiopia is tipped to lead the region with a predicted 8.2 percent growth in 2019, ahead of Rwanda (7.8%), Tanzania (6.6%), Kenya (6%), Djibouti (5.9%) and Uganda (5.3%). West Africa’s 15 economies seem to be diverse across many dimensions of development, with per capita income spanning between $452 in Niger to $3,678 in Cabo Verde. The regional economy notched up to 3.3 percent in 2018 from 2.7 percent in 2017, and predicted to hit 3.6 percent in 2019 and 2020. On why institutional mechanism in West Africa is weak, the outlook says, “Weak transparency and accountability and political instability and fragility have historically prevented West African countries from mobilising enough domestic resources to meet developmental needs.” The West Africa Regional Outlook charged governments within the region to devise creative means of expanding revenue through reforms...

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AFTA) has garnered the required 22 ratifications for it to come into force. The the latest ratification came in on April 1 from The Gambia just 11 days after the first anniversary of the signing of the Agreement on March 21, 2018 in Kigali. What was thought unthinkable has happened. It was the icon Nelson Mandela, who said “it always looks impossible until it is done”. He also said after climbing one great hill, you only realise you have more hills to climb. The real hard work now begins - that of Implementation - on which Africa doesn’t have a very proud record. Besides, there is quite a bit of unfinished work to be done. In addition to trade in goods, AFTA also covers services as well as innovation, competition and investment. Adding these areas was a stroke of genius, given the psychotic fear of these issues by many developing countries in international trade agreements particularly the World Trade Organisation. However, way back in 2006, the African ministers at a conference in Nairobi chaired by the then Kenyan Trade minister Mukhisa Kituyi, now secretary general of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), took a fundamental decision to include these issues among programmes for regional economic integration in Africa. Various service sectors are already fairly liberalised in much of Africa, such as tourism, financial, communication, computer, transport, certain professions, energy, cultural and entertainment services. This follows years of autonomous liberalisation under economic liberalism...

EAST African Community (EAC) partner states are set to generate 7,480megawatts of electricity come 2022. The increase from the 1,083 megawatts that was generated by the six member states last year, will be realised through a $2.5 billion funding by the African Development Bank(AfDB) which is approved through the Regional Integration Strategy for Easter Africa (RISP 2018-2022). “There has been an unprecedented level of resources mobilised that is geared towards the improvement of power generation among partner states,” EAC Secretary General Libérat Mfumukeko said here last week. According to Ambassador Mfumukeko, the funds will be channeled into enhancing regional transport connectivity, regional energy infrastructure, regional ICT connectivity and management of trans-boundary water resources. The EAC boss said the regional bank had also prioritised a number of energy projects under RISP, namely the Masaka (Uganda)- Mwanza (Tanzania) transmission line; Kigali-Bujumbura oil products pipeline feasibility study; Uganda-Tanzania-oil-pipelineproducts study. “The funds will also support projects aimed at accelerating implementation of the EAC single market, trade development, including tackling of non-tariff barriers, and putting in place policy frameworks for industrialisation and promotion of EAC as a single investment destination,” he explained. The EAC secretary general, who was speaking after meeting the AfDB Director General for Eastern Africa Region Mr Gabriel Negatu, thanked the bank for accepting to support agriculture and industry in the region as well as some Heads of State approved infrastructure and Health projects. In his rejoinder, Mr Negatu pledged more support to agriculture and industrialisation in the EAC bloc. Mr Negatu...

The World Bank has revised down Africa’s growth rate, citing the continent’s fragility due to political and regulatory uncertainties. Africa will grow at 2.8 per cent in 2019, according the global lender, down from the earlier projected three per cent. The World Bank also downgraded to 2.3 per cent the growth for 2018, down from 2.5 per cent in 2017, in their latest bi-annual analysis of the state of African economies released Monday. The continent’s economic growth is said to have been outpaced by population increase for the fourth consecutive year, pushing down 2019 growth projections below three per cent since 2015. World Bank Chief Economist for Africa Albert Zeufack said the continent’s future growth would now largely rely on its investment and improvement in the digital economy. “The digital transformation can increase growth by nearly two percentage points per year and reduce poverty by nearly one percentage point per year in sub-Saharan Africa alone. This is a game-changer for Africa. There is need for investment in the education system to embrace digital skills, improve regulations and encourage digital entrepreneurship to create jobs,” Mr Zeufack said. Kenya was ranked favourably on the path to digital framework, with the potential to boost consumer participation in the economy. Together with Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, the country was found to have homegrown digital, multi-side platforms (that is, matching providers and consumers of goods and/or services) in transportation, online shopping, asset sharing, and professional services There was, however, more...

  The African Continental Free Trade Area (AFTA) has garnered the required 22 ratifications for it to enter force, the latest ratification coming in on April 1, 2019 from The Gambia; just 11 days after the first anniversary of the signing of the Agreement on 21 March 2018 in Kigali. What was thought unthinkable has happened. It was the Icon Nelson Mandela who said, it always looks impossible until it is done. He said also, that after climbing one great hill, you only realise you have more hills to climb. The real hard work now begins; that of Implementation, on which Africa doesn’t have a very proud record. Besides, there is quite a bit of unfinished work to be done. In addition to trade in goods, AFTA covers also services as well as innovation, competition and investment. Adding these areas was a stroke of genius, given the psychotic fear of these issues by many developing countries in international trade agreements particularly the World Trade Organisation. However, way back in 2006, the African Ministers at a conference in Nairobi chaired by the then Kenyan Trade Minister Mukhisa Kituyi, now Secretary General of UNCTAD, took a fundamental decision to include these issues among programs for regional economic integration in Africa. It all came together one day at the Africa Trade Forum, before AFTA negotiations started. The die was cast, and a certain old man took the podium. He called out to the 200 strong audience that it would be a huge wasted...