The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is expected to be a crucial instrument in Africa’s development; it is expected to drive the continents’ economic integration. By connecting over 1.3 billion people across 55 African countries, the African economy is committed to streamlining its trade policies, ensure free movement and expand its business opportunities.
As it nears full implementation, organizations have already moved to ensuring that Africans are making the most of the agreement. For instance, the partnership between Afreximbank and the International Trade Centre (ITC), has been in place since 2020 and it has focussed on training small-business owners and young entrepreneurs in Africa to trade with other African countries.
The partnership developed a training programme on how to export with the AfCFTA, which was run via ITC’s SME Trade Academy platform, with support from the Afreximbank Academy (AFRACAD). It supports businesses at country level to trade continentally using a dual approach, which includes a free online component on the Afreximbank Academy, while ITC facilitates in-country workshops to train business owners, business support organizations and government stakeholders.
The programme was piloted in Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Rwanda in 2020 and then extended to include Ghana, Morocco and Zimbabwe. The training helped entrepreneurs easily find tailored market opportunities for their businesses, identify the highest export potential for their products and learn how to capitalize on potential financing opportunities. Also, it allowed the trainees to acquire access to trade financing and trade facilitation interventions offered by Afreximbank to support intra-African trade.
At a time that African businesses have faced continuous challenges from climate change, the COVID pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the rising costs being felt now, the training has been the right remedy to help the businesses through the difficult period. With the partnership having already trained over 5,000 small businesses and young entrepreneurs, it is moving forward. Once a memorandum of understanding is signed in the coming period, the programme will be open to all 55 African countries.
The agreement will also seek to establish a continental collaborative group to pave the way for African designers and artists to engage in the continent’s vibrant creative economy, secure investment opportunities for African businesses, as well as push for African businesses to pursue opportunities beyond their regional markets and consider international export opportunities in the Caribbean. Additionally, the partnership will promote the uptake of relevant and innovative green solutions at global events, including COP27 which is meant to take place in November 2022.
When the program is implemented throughout the continent, the African population will be able to be fully prepared for any challenge unlike the situation was with the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which to date are still affecting many businesses. Business owners who complete the training will have the knowledge and abilities necessary to successfully engage in cross-border trade and seize global business opportunities.
According to Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director, International Trade Centre, the ITC/ AfCFTA training programme is crucial in empowering African small businesses and accelerating intra-African trade. “Besides a shortage of working capital, small businesses consistently report difficulties in identifying foreign business opportunities and an inability to analyse export markets as the biggest barriers to exporting.
Providing them with information, knowledge and tools to overcome the challenges of international trade, the training programme will play a pivotal role in enabling them to contribute to the Agreement’s success,” she said. (
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