The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, which entered into force in May 2019, seeks to create a single, integrated market for goods and services on the continent, facilitated by freer movement of capital and natural persons. With a potential market of 1.4 billion people and a combined GDP of around USD3 trillion, the AfCFTA offers an opportunity for transformational change on the continent, marked by inclusive and sustainable socioeconomic development, structural transformation and gender equality. If fully implemented, the Agreement has the potential to boost intra-African trade, strengthen regional value chains and accelerate industrialisation, provided industrial policies are implemented and infrastructure deficits are addressed to improve competitiveness among others. According to UNECA, effective implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement could increase intra-African trade by up to 45 percent in 2045, compared to a scenario without the Agreement.
However, implementing the AfCFTA Agreement is not enough. Whether the AfCFTA delivers on its expected benefits of deeper intra-African trade, powered by more industrialised and diversified economies on the continent, and matched by higher levels of intra-African investment will critically hinge on the capacities of the African private sector to take advantage of the Agreement, including utilizing the tariff preferences inherent under the Protocol on Trade in Goods. This will require among others improving access -of the African private sector to information about the AfCFTA Agreement and its requirements for trading across the continent.