Covid-19 is changing the way African countries are collaborating with each other

This article first was first published by Quartz Africa on 22 July 2021.

The Covid-19 pandemic presents opportunities for the economic transformation of Africa through innovation, digitalization, and regional collaboration, but countries need policies to enable this, a new think-tank report says.

The pandemic could make businesses in Africa adopt digital-first operating models and make the continent’s manufacturing sector resume focus on innovation, local production, and self-reliance, says the report by the Accra-based African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), an economic policy institute.

“These three areas we’ve identified are binding constraints that if tackled together and effectively across borders could create a real opportunity for transforming the economy to generate the employment and income we desperately need and also to enable us to compete globally."

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AfCFTA promises to unlock the potential for African women to move from micro to macro businesses

This article was first published on the African Union website on 14 May 2021.

For decades, African women have been trapped in poverty cycles due to several underlying factors including unequal access to education, factors of production, and trade facilities; inequitable labour-saving technologies; underpaid or unpaid labour; harmful cultural practices; and limited legal protection from gender inequality practices entrenched in society.

To break the cycle of poverty and inequalities, the African Union continues to advocate for the development and implementation of policies and legal; frameworks that will create a wider array of opportunities for women, and which will lead to their economic empowerment at the national and regional levels, and ensuring that the development envisaged for Africa is inclusive and sustainable.

With the launch of trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in January 2021, the expectations are high as relates to the expanded business prospects for women-led businesses, which will unlock the potential for African women to grow their businesses from micro to macro enterprises. The Agreement establishing the AfCFTA recognises the need to build and improve the export capacity of both formal and informal service suppliers, with particular attention to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in which women and youth actively participate. Furthermore, the AfCFTA Protocols on Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, Investment, Intellectual Property Rights and Competition Policy, provide clear guidelines to ensure emerging enterprises and infant industries are protected thus adding impetus to the Agenda 2063 goals of gender equality, women empowerment and youth development.

“The prospective shift from micro to macro business opportunities for women will not be spontaneous and the expected benefits for women should be tempered with realism and commitment to address existing challenges women often face.”

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AfCFTA chief: Free trade can help Africa beat recession

This article was first published on Africanews on 12 July 2021.

Trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) finally kicked off on January 1, 2021, to a lot of excitement, after being delayed for six months due to the pandemic.

The AfCFTA unites an estimated $3 trillion market and could help to realize more than $84 billion in untapped intra-African exports, according to a report by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

Countries now have to harmonize customs and tariff regimes.

But Wamkele Mene, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA secretariat admits that restrictions prompted by Covid-19 have slowed down progress.

Africanews journalist Neusa e Silva interviewed Wamkele during his trip to Angola recently.

"We are in conversations now with African banks about trade facilitation, trade finance rather, trade finance facility to support the implementation of the AfCFTA, I mentioned also the work we are doing with our strategic partner, Afreximbank, to make sure that there is the finance component that supports the implementation of the AfCFTA..."

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