“Made by Africa: Creating value through integration” launched recently.
The publication, “Made by AFRICA”, highlights vast opportunities in the development of regional and continental value chains across the continent. The task ahead is to promote effective collaboration among policy makers, investors, manufacturers and agro processors. The material in the publication was selected as part of a joint research commissioned by the Department of Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals (ETTIM) of the African Union Commission and the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) of the European Commission. The research was conducted by the International Trade Centre.
Accelerating productive transformation through industrialization, a higher form of value addition, is at the centre of Africa’s agenda towards sustainable development, structural transformation, competitiveness, recovery, resilience and inclusive prosperity and gained in importance in the current complex geopolitical context. The start of trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement in January 2021 offers Africa the most significant opportunity for socioeconomic progress. It is currently Africa’s biggest development programme. The AfCFTA becomes even more relevant when viewed against the backdrop of global supply chain disruptions which are bringing in train, inflation and threats of economic recessions.
An integrated continental market of 1.4 billion people and growing, opens up large economies of scale and scope that can attract investments in manufacturing and agro-processing, which in turn, can boost economic diversification and intra-African trade. Projections show that tariff liberalization alone could increase intra- regional trade across Africa by as much as €17 billion while removing other market frictions could unlock another €19 billion.
Credit: Mark-Anthony Johnson
