The Secretary General of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene has called on Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs, to collaborate and embrace the tenets of the continental bloc to overcome trade barriers.
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The secretary general stated this in his message at the 2023 Regional Integration Issues Forum (RIIF) in Accra, Ghana.
This was contained in press release issued by the Centre for Regional Integration in Africa, CRIA, who organized the conference with the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), in collaboration with the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, and with the support from Afreximbank.
According to the release, Mene, who was represented by Mr. Silver Ojakol, Chief of Staff of the AfCFTA Secretariat, emphasized the importance of the AfCFTA for SMEs, noting that the agreement is not for big corporations.
The release quoted Mene as saying “the agreement was designed and framed for the women and young men who on a daily basis face challenges across the continent when crossing neighbouring borders to trade in goods and services.
“If African countries came together and achieved just one percentage increase in trade amongst itself, we would earn 70 billion dollars, which will be higher than the 58 billion dollars given by donors as development assistance.”
The CRIA explained in the release that the RIIF is a sensitization mechanism and an interface platform for stakeholders involved in regional integration and continental trade initiatives.
The 2023 RIIF aimed at increasing awareness of the AfCFTA and its benefits for SMEs, as well as to strengthen SMEs’ capacity to engage in intra-African trade.
The two-day SME conference was under the theme “breaking business barriers for AfCFTA Acceleration,” the release stated.
The conference brought together over 150 participants from across Africa, including government officials, business leaders, academia, and civil society representatives.
The participants discussed a wide range of issues related to AfCFTA implementation, including trade barriers, infrastructure, and access to finance.
Participants at the conference included Nana Dr. Owusu-Afari, Chairman of Afariwaa Group of Companies, Mr. Ian Mashingaidze, the interim Director of programs at the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and Professor Lehlohonolo Tlou, Executive Director, Centre for Regional Integration in Africa (CRIA).
Professor Samuel Bonsu, Rector, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Affairs (GIMPA), who was also at the conference, restated the fact that Africa has the youngest population and the need for intra-Africa trade to transform resources into better value could not have come at a better time.
The conference ended with a call to action for all stakeholders to work together to break down barriers to trade and accelerate the implementation of the AfCFTA.
The participants committed to work with their respective governments and businesses to create the conditions necessary to transform Africa’s economy and create a prosperous future for all Africans.
