Transforming Africa through value chains: Message from Pamela Coke-Hamilton
At the end of 2019, ITC dedicated a special Trade Forum issue to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), marking the decisive step taken by African Union leaders in launching this impressive agreement. Four years since the formal start of trading under the AfCFTA, the accord’s potential for transforming the continent’s economic prospects and delivering on its developmental goals is now becoming reality.
Today, I invite you to look at how the free trade area is already leading to deeper regional integration and value creation within the African continent—and, in turn, is setting the stage for Africa to become a trading powerhouse on the global stage. Throughout our contributions, we reiterate that the AfCFTA’s biggest successes will depend on how much Africa’s small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) can benefit from the agreement and shape its implementation.
In one of our own staff contributions in this edition, we explain that the AfCFTA, which looks at unifying a market of 1.4 billion people, could boost intra-African trade by up to $22 billion in the next four years if there is full tariff liberalization – a number that could go up to $37.6 billion if other trade frictions are removed. We also show why realizing this potential requires trade data to identify where opportunities exist and where hurdles lie—information that can, in turn, guide the necessary investments for developing priority value chains throughout Africa that can create economic growth and well-paying jobs.
I am happy that important voices representing Africa have come forth in this Trade Forum issue to highlight where the AfCFTA can go next and why. Our expert views and interviews include the African Union Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat, the Ambassador of The Gambia in Geneva, Afreximbank, Destination Africa and the East African Business Council, to name a few. This time, our special “outside” guest is the European Union Commission, a fierce supporter of Africa’s economic future, sharing a glimpse into its latest projects.
Ultimately, this edition is packed with insights on how Africa plans to tackle hurdles that are limiting the full development of key regional value chains, including the “Made in Africa” initiative that addresses the necessary steps for reducing import dependency and enabling a strong economic transformation that creates opportunities for small businesses, especially those led by women and youth.
Trade Forum wouldn’t be the same without the contributions of the small and medium-sized businesses we serve, our valued and trusted partners as well as our own colleagues, who explain though real life examples how they turn challenges into business solutions or invest where needed. The sectors covered in these articles range from baby food, finance, coffee and chocolate, to fashion, cotton and textiles, among others.
I hope you find this year’s first edition as inspiring and informative as it was intended to be. The AfCFTA is one of those rare treaties that, if it succeeds, could rewrite the entire economic and developmental trajectory of a continent. And it is one whose future matters now, more than ever, at a time of global trade uncertainty and amid seismic shifts in the realm of overseas development aid. We hope our contributions will encourage you to join us and our partners as we work to ensure this agreement can truly live up to its potential as a once-in-a-generation treaty. Thank you.