AfCFTA - Thriving in a New Africa (Part 1)

Overview

The establishment of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement was signed in Kigali, Rwanda (Kigali declaration), by 44 Heads of State on 21 March 2018. The broad objective of the AfCFTA is to create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments, paving the way for accelerating the establishment of the Continental Customs Union. Additionally, the AfCFTA is expected to enhance competitiveness at the industry and enterprise level through exploitation of opportunities for scale production, continental market access and better reallocation of resources.

The AfCFTA agreement went into effect on the 30th of May 2019. As at the time of this article, Nigeria is yet to either assent to the Kigali declaration or sign the AfCFTA Agreement. Being the seventh (7th) most populous country in the world and Africa's largest market, Nigeria is attractive to many economies and companies looking to make inroads with their products and services. Regardless of Nigeria's assent, the AfCFTA agreement will create a new trade environment in Africa.