AfCFTA’s plan is to boost intra-African trade by 60 percent by 2034 by eliminating almost all tariffs, creating an economic bloc of 1.3 billion people with a combined gross domestic product of $3.4 trillion. African countries currently trade only about 15 percent of their goods and services with each other, compared to more than 65 percent with European countries. If fully implemented, AfCFTA would lift 50 million Africans out of extreme poverty and raise incomes by nine percent by 2035, according to the World Bank. But implementation has fallen well short of that goal, running into hurdles including disagreements over tariff reductions and border closures caused by the Covid pandemic. This year’s summit comes at a “delicate moment” for Africa, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank, citing Ethiopia’s nascent peace process, conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Sahel region, South Sudan and jihadist insurgencies in Somalia and Mozambique. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions that followed “have rattled African economies and left many in deep distress”, ICG adds, with food prices shooting up. While Europe’s internal market is knitted together by energy pipelines, motorways, railways and flight routes, Africa is playing catch-up, with decrepit infrastructure and corruption handicapping the process.
More Stories
The Challenges Facing the New Leader of Africa’s Largest Economy are Simply Enormous
Understanding the Opinions of Africa’s Rising Generation
SA Reserve Bank Concerned about the Rand’s Recent Meltdown and Persistent Price Pressures
Africa’s Banking Sector Celebrates
ICYMI Sam Altman Made a Stop in Lagos
Is African Debt as Perilous as Foreign Lenders Assume?
Accra’s IPPs Threaten Shutdown Over Non-Payment
DRC To Change the Way it Does Business with China
Maputo Picks a Partner for its Hydro Plans
Results of the Kenya Small Firm Diaries study in Nairobi
Africa Day this Year Marks 60 Years since the Founding of the Organisation of African Unity
Zimbabwe Retailers Head to the Streets