The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is the largest free trade area in the world. It brings together the 55 member countries of the African Union and eight Regional Economic Communities, with a mandate to create a single continental market of about 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of around US$3.4 trillion.
It is one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, the African Union’s long-term strategy for transforming the continent.
What it is for
The AfCFTA aims to remove barriers to trade and increase trade between African countries, including trade in value-added production and services. By helping to build regional value chains, it is expected to support investment, industrialisation and job creation, and to make African economies more competitive over the medium to long term.
Key dates
- Continental negotiations began in 2012.
- The agreement entered into force on 30 May 2019, once 24 member states had deposited their instruments of ratification.
- It was launched in July 2019 at the 12th Extraordinary Session of the African Union Assembly in Niamey, Niger.
- Trading under the AfCFTA began on 1 January 2021.
The AfCFTA Secretariat is based in Accra, Ghana. Wamkele Mene is its first elected Secretary-General and coordinates implementation of the agreement.
Source: AfCFTA Secretariat.