Africa’s free trade bloc is open for business after virus delays

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Countries have officially begun trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area after months of delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic

Cranes and containers seen at APM Terminals at the gateway port in Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria July 30, 2019.

The African Continental Free Trade Area aims to bring together 1.3 billion people in a $3.4 trillion economic bloc that will be the largest free trade area since the establishment of the World Trade Organization. But obstacles - ranging from ubiquitous red tape and poor infrastructure to the entrenched protectionism of some of its members - must be overcome if the bloc is to reach its full potential.

"We saw the impact on our economies of the disruption of imports due to the pandemic," he said. "So there's actually been an increase in political will to boost intra-African integration." Historic challenges including Africa's poor road and rail links, political unrest, excessive border bureaucracy and petty corruption will not disappear overnight.

But efforts to implement the deal will also likely face resistance from countries' domestic interest groups. Fears of losing out to more competitive neighbours initially made some countries, including West African giant Nigeria, sceptical of the pan-African project.

 

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