The Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) has urged the Ghana Customs Excise and Preventive Service to endeavour to simplify its digital system deployed for cross-border trading activities.

This is in the quest to make trading much easier for formal and non-formal cross-border traders, especially women, in a bid to promote and harness the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

This was disclosed at a capacity-building programme in Aflao to empower Ghanaian women and youth in operating Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs).

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents a $3 trillion market opportunity for African business. The initiative is expected to promote continental trading activities and build a resilient African economy.

However, the MSMEs, which comprise the formal and informal traders who play a significant role in achieving the objectives of AfCFTA are faced with some hurdles.

The Aflao Market Queen, Atiku Josephine, outlined the lack of capital, unavailability of early childhood development centres, places of convenience, and health centres in the market, non-conversant with digital systems, extortion, and increasing exchange rate as some challenges affecting their trading activities.

She also lamented a lack of knowledge of the AfCFTA protocols and related factors among her peers, hence their inability to take advantage of the initiative.

“Most important is the bad access road. Due to this motorcycle operators charge us exorbitant fares. The exchange rate is always increasing, hereby affecting our trading capital”, she stressed.

In this regard, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), partnered with the Ghana Export Promotion Agency (GEPA) to undertake a project aimed at building the capacity of women and youth-led MSME owners in AfCFTA protocols, trade, and manufacturing.

The Project which is themed, “Building Resilience of Women and Youth-led MSMEs through AfCTA for Green and Inclusive Recovery and Growth” is ultimately targeted at improving cross-border trading.

The Director for Manufacturing and Services at GEPA, Banda Abdallah Khalifa said the project would provide a common platform for stakeholders to educate cross-border traders to enable them to trade easily, freely, and efficiently, aiming at increasing export.

“We want to facilitate trade, we want to increase export from Ghana irrespective of the volume, we need to push export. When trade increases, it comes with a lot of advantages. When women trade more, they are able to create jobs, and take care of their families”, he said.

He shared optimism the project would also contribute to curbing illegal trading activities as traders would be encouraged to use the approved border points when transporting their goods.

A Trade Promotion Expert with GEPA, Nelly Spio Abedu, advocated the simplification of the digital systems of Customs and Preventive Excise Service at the various borders to enable women traders to be conversant with the systems.

“If there are simple points displayed on the screen, saying that if you are somebody who is into cross-border trade, let us say fruit and vegetables, you need to visit shed A and talk to the PPRSD official, or if you are here and you have soap and you sending it to the neighbouring country, you will have to visit the Ghana Stanford Board or Food and Drugs Authority desk.

“These points when highlighted on the screens with pictures will help the person to see what to do instead of telling this person to go online because it has been simplified. We want to ensure that there is more added to what has been done.

“We acknowledge and we applaud them for the good they are doing but we are still asking that it [digital systems] should still be simplified for the sake of these women who may not be able to access the internet even at the border”, she said.

She also suggested the setting of safe space for women traders to stay and attend to their babies and themselves while accessing services at the border, together with curbing harassment and extortion.