African Apex Organizations will be the catalyst for ACFTA Successful Implementation by Samuel Mwamburi Mwale

October 29, 2020     / / / / / / / /

The Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) provides a unique opportunity to transform the continent’s economic and political future in the 21st century. For too long, Africa has traded with the rest of the world. Intra continental trade in exports was at about 17 percent for Africa in 2017. For the Asia, intra-regional exports trade was 60 percent, and between 50 and 75 percent for the European Union. In North America, 85 percent of exports for Canada and Mexico went to the US. Globally, it is mainly Africa, Latin America, and Oceania that trade more with the rest of the…

AfCFTA – The Key to Ushering Trade and Investment to Africa by Frank Samolis

October 29, 2020     / / / / / / / / / / /

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the African continent has seen challenges like other parts of the world that are affecting trade. This includes a moving effective date for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which slid from July 1 to possibly January 1, 2021, to avoid distracting African leaders as they respond to the pandemic. Nevertheless, there is a push to have the continent move forward with implementation of the AfCFTA, to spur further collaboration and intra-Africa trade, which in turn could help the continent better weather economic downturns related to the global pandemic. The AfCFTA, once implemented, will create a $3.4 trillion economic bloc, which would provide…

Realizing the dream of unfettered trade in a post-covid19 – Erastus Mwencha & Stephen Lande

July 16, 2020     / / / / / / /

Allowing Trade to flow under the First stage of the AfCFTA in 2021 The positive economic stimulus and psychological impact of a critical mass of countries implementing the AfCFTA cannot be overestimated. No other step would provide the wherewith to spur African recovery from COVID-19 than the AfCFTA trade agreement being implemented in the next six to twelve months.  It will spur the development of intra-African supply chains as a substitute for the expected reduction in demand for African components of global supply chains as third world countries strive for greater self-sufficiency. It would reduce and eventually eliminate discrimination in Africa under which…