The continental flagship project under the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), is envisioned to transform Africa into a global economic powerhouse through integration. With 54 signatories and 47 ratifications, the AfCFTA is now the world’s largest free trade agreement, promising to connect a market of 1.4 billion people.
With a combined GDP of 3.4 trillion dollars, AfCFTA’s success is not only measured by diplomatic signatures but by the practical domestication of commitments and the readiness of member states to turn agreements into actual trade, the African Union (AU) reported.
Ethiopia’s recent gazetting of its Provisional Schedule of Tariff Concessions marks a significant move in this journey. This legal step paves the way for the country to begin trading under AfCFTA rules within a month, a decision that the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration (MoTRI) has been preparing for by equipping exporters with market knowledge and compliance tools.
Ethiopia’s participation is reported as particularly symbolic. The landlocked country with pan-African trade ambitions can become a manufacturing and logistics hub for the Horn of Africa (HoA).
The country’s capability to integrate into continental supply chains is now being supported by its strategic partnerships and infrastructure investment, MoTRI stated. The local market of over 120 million people offers scale, but the promise of AfCFTA lies in enabling Ethiopian products including textiles, leather, and agro-processing to reach West Africa, Southern Africa, and North Africa with reduced tariff barriers.
For local businesses, the clarity provided by the gazetting process means predictable rules, which are often the missing link in cross-border trade.
Another resilient country, South Africa, is well positioned to make the AfCFTA narrative more realistic. With decades of industrial development, advanced manufacturing capacity, and experience in exporting value-added goods, South Africa is well placed to leverage AfCFTA to expand market share within Africa, according to AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene, who told a South African broadcaster.
The country has historically relied on arrangements such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act to access markets in the United States, exporting nearly 2 billion USD worth of vehicles and over 1.5 billion USD in other goods annually. However, as trade certainty with the US becomes less predictable, the policy shift towards prioritizing the African continental market is both strategic and necessary, the Secretary- General said.
The AfCFTA negotiated a one billion USD trade finance facility with the African Export-Import Bank to support exporters and component producers in countries including South Africa. This funding, according to the General Secretariat, is not just about moving goods. It is about reconfiguring supply chains to serve African demand.
The AfCFTA Secretariat says it has conducted studies to determine which countries can supply components, which can assemble, and which require imports to sustain domestic industries. South Africa’s ability to align its industrial policy with the continental market contributes a competitive edge and creates opportunities for cross-country collaboration with less industrialized countries.
The continental challenge lies in political commitments. The agreement is not simply about signing rules; it requires the creation of new markets, the establishment of reliable supply networks, and the financing mechanisms to sustain, Wamkele said. The AfCFTA’s architects, however, aim to compress that timeline by combining policy direction, market intelligence, and available financing into a fast-tracked implementation strategy.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Without intra-African trade, the continent remains vulnerable to external market shocks, supply disruptions, and shifting geopolitical priorities. The AfCFTA, in this regard, offers opportunities to reduce overdependence on distant partners and stimulate industrialization through regional demand.
Ethiopia’s entry and South Africa’s strategic move show that African economies see long-term security in continental integration. The AU Agenda 2063 of realizing the AfCFTA is not an end goal, but its success depends on speed, flexibility, and the political commitment to prioritize African markets.
