Nhlanhla Mahlangu

The agreement will be a “potential game changer for Africa's economic development”.

The AFCFTA is a free trade area that covers almost the entirety of the African continent. It was brokered by the African Union and signed on the of March 21 in 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda.

The agreement aims to create a single market for goods and services in Africa, facilitate the free movement of people and spur economic growth and development across the continent.

The AfCFTA has 54 signatories, making it the largest free trade area in terms of the number of Member States.

It is also the largest in terms of both population and geographic science, encompassing over 1.3 billion people across the African continent.

Speaking at the second and final day of the Africa Shared Value at the summit, Managing Director at Haco Industries Mary Ann Musangi said Small and medium-sized enterprises and women entrepreneurs will benefit immensely from the African Free trade agreement.

“One of the most exciting aspects of the AFCFTA is its ability to create shared value opportunities, aligning business success with social impact. SMME's and women entrepreneurs stand to benefit immensely from this agreement with the potential to scale operations, access to new markets and build regional value chains. For SMME's, we see access to larger African markets. This will allow them to participate more actively in regional supply chains, grow their businesses, and be able to create jobs. Collaboration between SMEs across borders will Foster and spur knowledge sharing and innovation for women entrepreneurs,” said Mutengi.

“AFCFTA provides a platform to break down barriers to market entry and access financing. Women led businesses will have opportunities to participate in cross-border trade, transforming not just their livelihoods but also their communities. Businesses and governments must create enabling environments by investing in financial inclusion, offering capacity, building programs and actively involving women in trade policy development”.

Beatrice Gakuba, Chief Executive Officer of African Women Agribusiness Network Afrika says if the agreement is implemented it could be the best thing for the continent.

“The Africa Free trader is, I think one of the best things that happened to Africa in since independence. But how do we implement it? It is all of us, and I really want to stop talking about the challenges, let's talk about the solutions,’ said Gakuba.

Rodolphe Bance, Head of Economic and Social Governance, African Capacity Building Foundation, Kenya says the agreement could transform the continent's economic prospects.

“We need to act now, but to be able to act now, we need to build capacity around the implementation of this agreement. Then we can be able to have more successful and track trade in Africa” Bance said.

The summit sought to create a platform that convenes business leaders, the private sector, and policymakers to create an African narrative of Shared Value, sharing success stories and challenges as the continent advocates for African business power to contribute to African solutions. Delegates have hailed it a great success. Khamis Salim is from Zanema in Zanzibar.

‘From this conference, we have benefited a lot from this ESG concept environment, society and governance. This one has been a great interest for us, especially us from Zanzibar, representing Zanzibar Employers Association, we have been part of this meeting and in fact we have gained a lot of energy from this meeting,” said Salim.

Flecia Kamau is from Innectro Africa in Nairobi

“One of the things that I anticipated to come and learn was how we can leverage technology for development. I’m in the tech space where we offer our technology solutions, but when it comes to the event, I'd say it's been very eye opening, especially some of the things that have been mentioned by the ladies, Mary-Anne (Mutengi) and Beatrice (Gakuba) around how to empower women in the technology space in the development space and how we can tap into markets that are currently untapped, especially with the financial inclusion concept in mind.

--ChannelAfrica--