The African Continental Free Trade Area, launched on 1 January 2021, is the world’s largest free trade area, connecting 1.3 billion people across 54 of the 55 African Union member states in a single market for goods and services. Only Eritrea has not joined the Agreement. Recently, Africa’s population has approached 1.5 billion people, reflecting rapid growth since AfCFTA’s original projections of 1.3 billion people in 2021. The Agreement aims to eliminate trade barriers and boost intra-African trade. The AfCFTA is one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063, “The Africa we want”; it is the long-term development strategy for transforming the continent into a global powerhouse. The Agenda 2063’s aspirations for the continental market, with free movement of persons, Capital, goods, and services, are crucial for developing economic integration and promoting agricultural development, food security, industrialization, and structural development.
The African Continental Free Trade Area as a Pillar for Economic Integration:
Trade plays a vital role in African economic development. The trade sector in African economies is characterized by openness, with exports and imports representing 55.7% of GDP in 2009.
However, the trade sector has not been fully effective in achieving sustainable economic development. Africa remains dependent on aid and unable to reach the Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating poverty. This deficiency stems from the continent’s reliance on exporting raw materials and commodities without developing industrial value chains.
Enhancing African Economies for Inclusive Growth
The BIAT Action Plan (Boosting Intra-African Trade) is an African Union strategy to deepen market integration and significantly increase trade among African countries. It provides a roadmap for overcoming key constraints to intra-African trade and unlocking growth for sustainable development. The BIAT Action Plan is closely linked to the AfCFTA agreement as a basic framework for implementing the agreement and its objectives. Implementation of the deal depends on the BIAT Action Plan to remove logistical and customs barriers and facilitate the movement of goods within the African continent.
BIAT Action Plan Clusters
The BIAT Action Plan is organized into seven focus clusters: trade policy, Trade Facilitation, Productive capacity, Trade-Related Infrastructure, Trade Finance, Trade Integration, and Factor market integration. Each cluster outlines necessary actions, such as harmonizing standards, investing in infrastructure, improving trade finance mechanisms, and creating Integrated market information systems.
Implementation Features
The BITA Action Plan sets measurable outputs and targets for members and regional organizations, coordinates with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to use payment and settlement systems, and monitoring and reporting platforms to remove non-tariff barriers, relies on cooperation between the African Union Commission, regional economic communities, and development partners in implementation, and supports market integration, trade volume and economic growth, similar to successes in Europe and Asia.
The failure of African trade to catalyze sustainable economic growth and poverty alleviation stems partly from its three interrelated basic features: size, structure, and direction. At around 3 per cent, Africa’s share of global trade is insignificant. Not only is the share of the continent relatively small, but it has also declined over the decades, from 8 per cent in 1948. Africa’s export trade is heavily concentrated in primary commodities, characterized by relatively slow growth, price instability, and long-term deterioration in terms of trade. The participation of African countries in the dynamic sectors of global trade, especially manufacturing and services, has been limited, partly due to supply-side constraints and a lack of competitiveness.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) held a regional workshop on 15 September 2025 in Losada, Zambia. The workshop brought together public and private sector players to take stock of the status of the African Continental Free Trade Area and enhance their understanding of the AfCFTA implementation tools.
National Implementation Committee NICs:
The NICs were established by a decision of the African Union Assembly in 2018 to facilitate the effective and coordinated implementation of AfCFTA at the national and regional level.
The NICs are a mechanism for implementing the AfCFTA; they aim to manage risks associated with strategy implementation and to develop work plans, budgets, and periodic reports. The goal of the mechanism is to mainstream gender and youth considerations in strategy implementation. Working to raise awareness and collaborate with all stakeholders, coordinating to advise and lobby the government on policy reform and domesticating AFCFTA instruments and complementary instruments in line with existing structures to implement trade and development policy.
To implement the AfCFTA, we must add the Implementation Review Mechanism (FfIRM)I. It aims to establish structures, processes, and procedures for tracking, evaluating, and sharing the progress and outcomes of AfCFTA implementation. The (AFIRM) is designed to monitor, assess, and support the effective execution of the AfCFTA agreement by member states.
The success of AfCFTA depends on an effective national strategy and the active participation of African peoples and their institutions to overcome the challenges associated with harmonizing standards, improving logistics, financing small and medium-sized enterprises, and engaging youth and women.
The Intra-African Trade Fair IATF 2025:
The Intra-African Trade Fair is the African continent’s premier bi-annual trade and investment event, providing a unique opportunity for exhibitors to showcase their goods and services, engage in business-to-business and business-to-government exchanges, establish new business contacts, and conclude business deals. The Fair serves as the marketplace of the African Continental Free Trade Area, supporting its implementation.
The Fair, promoted by the African Export-Import Bank in collaboration with the African Union and the AfCFTA Secretariat, the IATF2025 provides a unique and valuable platform for businesses to access a single African market of over 1.4 billion people with a GDP of over 3.5 trillion dollars, created under the AfCFTA. The event took place in Algeria from September 4-9 at the Algerian Company of Fairs and Exports.
The Economic Report on Africa ERA 2025 is a publication of the United Nations Commission for Africa. The Report examines AfCFTA implementation, highlighting achievements, challenges, and its potential to reshape AfCFTA’s economic landscape. The report underscores AfCFTA’s role in addressing key challenges, such as trade. The agreement can reduce commodity dependence, boost manufacturing, and strengthen Africa’s position in global value chains.
The ERA Report recommend that the Government should prioritize the full implementation of the AfCFTA, including reducing tariffs, eliminating non-tariff barriers, and harmonizing trade policies, it is recommended to develop robust regional value chains in key sectors such as agro-processing, automotive, pharmaceuticals, and renewable energy, The AfCFTA require to integrate climate policies in the implementation process, including carbon pricing and
investments in renewable energy. Invest in sustainable urban development, including affordable housing, clean water, and sanitation, to manage the rapid rate of urbanization.
Pathways to Prosperity and Market Integration:
Achieving the agenda and objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) requires concerted efforts to address key challenges. These include harmonizing trade standards among regional blocs, streamlining customs and logistics procedures through modern technologies and capacity-building programs that engage youth and women, and facilitating access to finance by strengthening investment policies and removing logistical barriers.
The continent needs to coordinate efforts among key stakeholders and integrate the work of mechanisms that facilitate free trade, such as National Implementation Committees and the African Continental Free Trade Area Implementation Review Mechanism. These mechanisms offer a practical model for overcoming logistical and infrastructure obstacles while promoting market integration.
Regional priorities and urgent needs include reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers, investing in productive capacity, harmonizing regional regulations, adopting e-commerce and digital trade facilitation tools, and ensuring sustainable and urban development. The AfCFTA presents an opportunity to accelerate growth across the continent and to unify markets to enhance regional integration.
