Praia, Cabo Verde, 30 September 2025 (ECA) - The Government of Cabo Verde launched a workshop today in Praia dedicated to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The event brought together approximately fifty participants from public institutions and national enterprises, with a particular focus on empowering youth and women within the framework of the world’s largest free trade zone.
The workshop, scheduled to run until October 3, is jointly organized by the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Energy—via its Directorate of Trade Services—in partnership with the African Trade Policy Center (ATPC) of the Regional Integration and Trade Division (RITD), the Subregional Office for West Africa of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA-SRO/WA), and the AfCFTA Secretariat.
The meeting aims to strengthen public awareness, encourage stakeholder engagement, and promote active ownership of the AfCFTA Agreement. It also serves as a platform for gathering perspectives and contributions from national actors and development partners, with the goal of anchoring the implementation of the AfCFTA more firmly within Cabo Verde’s sustainable development strategy.
In her opening remarks, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Cabo Verde, Patrícia Portela de Souza, highlighted that the implementation of the AfCFTA will enable businesses—whether small, medium, or large—to access a significantly broader market. Mrs. de Souza further stressed the critical “role of women and youth as key engines of innovation and entrepreneurship”, emphasizing the need to equip them fully to harness the opportunities presented by the AfCFTA.
As for Mr. Aboul Kamara representing the AfCFTA Secretariat, he underscored the significant strides made in advancing the agreement, which has now been signed by 54 countries and ratified by 48. He noted ongoing progress in negotiations aimed at translating the agreement into concrete realities. He also drew attention to Cabo Verde’s particular status as an island state, underscoring the imperative of accelerating infrastructure development to enhance trade connectivity.
For his part, Cabo Verde’s National Director of Industry, Trade, and Energy, Rito Évora, recalled that this workshop forms part of an ongoing initiative to raise awareness and disseminate key information. This initiative already includes the participatory drafting of the National AfCFTA Implementation Strategy for 2024, carried out with support from ECA. Mr. Évora also announced that a “Green supplement” to the strategy is currently being formulated with ECA support, aimed at exploring opportunities linked to the energy transition and the green economy—thereby enhancing the country’s competitiveness and its access to the intra-African market.
Mrs Ludmilde Fernandes Semedo, from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy of Cabo Verde added: “ECA’s support strengthens Cabo Verde in the implementation of the AfCFTA by promoting regional integration, sustainable development, SME capacity-building, and a more effective integration into the African continental market”.
This workshop forms part of ECA’s broader efforts under the DANIDA-funded programme “Operationalizing the AfCFTA for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in Africa (Phase B)”, which supports member States in integrating trade, green, and blue economy priorities into national policies.
Established in 2018, the AfCFTA stands as the world’s largest liberalized single market, encompassing 54 African countries and over 1.4 billion people.
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org