Due to infrastructure challenges, Africa has a low level of intra-trade which sits at just 18 percent of total goods traded in the region.
According to Frank Dafa, the Trade in Goods Manager at the Arusha-based East African Business Council (EABC) the African Continental Free Trade Area has the potential to boost intra-Africa trade by 52.3 percent by eliminating import duties.
Dafa pointed out that there is also the possibility to double that trade by reducing or totally eradicating the Non-tariff barriers.
Figures from the African Union indicate that the continent is home to more than 400 million youth and, thus, prime for investment and social development.
On the other hand, a recent ITC survey on Small and Medium-sized African enterprises found that between 60 and 70 percent reported the availability of trade-related training and information as being either low or very low.
In response to that, the East African Business Council (EABC), in collaboration with the International Trade Centre (ITC) rolled out a training boot camp to equip youth with the essential skills and knowledge needed to take advantage of export opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
This boot camp funded by the European Union, was organised as part of the EU-East African Community Market Access Upgrade Programme (MARKUP) II.
The three-day training boot camp, titled ‘Export Readiness for Youth-Led SMEs under the AfCFTA,’ convened trainers from East African business support organizations to enhance their capacity to support young entrepreneurs in trading across borders under AfCFTA.
The training covered various key topics such as navigating the AfCFTA protocols, understanding export procedures, leveraging digital platforms for exports, and utilizing trade information resources.
The International Trade Center estimates that if all African countries fully liberalise tariffs, there is an untapped intra-African export potential of USD 22 billion waiting to be tapped by Africa’s business community.
Richard Adu-Gyamfi, of the ITC, noted that Africa’s young entrepreneurs are the backbone of economies and hold the key to unlocking the potential of AfCFTA.
“By equipping them with the right tools, we can create a new era of cross-border trade that drives sustainable economic growth and integration.”
However, many African businesses remain unaware of its opportunities; An ITC survey showed that over 50 percent of Medium and Small Scale Enterprises were unaware of the AfCFTA Agreement, let alone empowered to take advantage of it.
To support the AfCFTA, ITC launched the “One Trade Africa Initiative” to empower African MSMEs, women, and youth entrepreneurs to fully capitalize on the agreement, in partnership with the AfCFTA Secretariat.
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