University of Ghana students have been urged to acquire the practical skills needed to drive the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The call was made at the launch of the 2026 GITFiC AfCFTA Tertiary Students’ Week, a three-day programme aimed at exposing students to the opportunities and practical demands of Africa’s single market.

The programme is being held under the theme “Empowering the Next Generation to Learn, Connect, Trade, Innovate and Lead.”

President of the University of Ghana Chapter of the GITFiC AfCFTA Tertiary Students’ Club, Adu Boahen Felix, said Africa's challenge is no longer the absence of a trade agreement but the lack of skilled professionals capable of implementing it.

“Africa does not have a trade agreement problem. Africa has a trade capacity problem,” he said.

He explained that the successful implementation of AfCFTA would require professionals who understand how to price cross-border transactions, apply rules of origin, navigate customs procedures, finance and insure shipments, and build businesses capable of operating across multiple African markets.

He said universities must therefore play a central role in equipping students with these skills before they enter the job market.

Mr Boahen described current university students as the “implementation generation” of AfCFTA, arguing that they will ultimately be responsible for moving goods, negotiating contracts and building businesses across the continent.

AfCFTA club expands

He disclosed that the GITFiC AfCFTA Tertiary Students’ Club, which was established at the University of Ghana in March 2023, has since expanded to the University for Development Studies, All Nations University and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

A chapter has also been established at the University of Lome in Togo.

Under the GITFiC Agenda 2031, the club aims to establish chapters in at least 100 tertiary institutions across Africa by 2031.

Mr Boahen also said a full AfCFTA curriculum for tertiary institutions has been developed, while a professional certificate programme on AfCFTA is available to students and working professionals.

Students challenged to go beyond the classroom

Vice President of the club, Doreen Amoatey Akweley, said the annual Students’ Week is designed to expose students to practical aspects of the African trade agenda.

She said the programme would bring students into direct contact with industry players and create opportunities for them to connect with one another.

“AfCFTA will only work if Africa develops the human capacity to operate the single market,” she said.

She stressed the importance of understanding cross-border contracts, rules of origin, customs procedures, financing and insurance as part of the skills needed to make the agreement effective.

‘Africa’s transformation will not be driven from Geneva or New York’

Patron of the club, Professor Rosina Foli, challenged students and academics to take a more active role in shaping Africa’s trade future.

She noted that AfCFTA has created a single market of about 1.4 billion people, but cautioned that the agreement alone would not transform the continent without the necessary human capacity and practical action.

Prof. Foli said the GITFiC AfCFTA Tertiary Students’ Club serves as the academic extension of the Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference, bringing students from different disciplines together to develop and implement ideas around continental free trade.

She said club members would also serve as Student Ambassadors for AfCFTA, with opportunities to participate in international conferences, regional seminars, forums and other structured programmes.

Prof. Foli called for greater involvement of academia in the AfCFTA agenda, arguing that universities have not been sufficiently integrated into discussions about Africa's economic transformation.

She urged academics to help train the researchers, human resource professionals, industrialists, negotiators and scientists who will contribute to the continent's economic development.

Learn, connect and lead

The Patron encouraged students to focus on three key areas — learning, connecting and leading.

She urged them to deepen their understanding of the Protocol on Trade in Services, use the club to connect campus businesses and startups to AfCFTA opportunities, and take leadership roles in Africa's economic transformation.

“Africa’s economic transformation will not be driven from Geneva or New York. It will be driven from rooms like this at the University of Ghana,” she said.

The 2026 Students’ Week will include a sports festival and a startup pitch competition, providing students with an opportunity to present business ideas to judges.

Organisers are also calling on businesses and industry players to support students through internships, mentorship and other opportunities for practical experience in African trade.

The Patron formally declared the GITFiC AfCFTA Tertiary Students’ Week 2026 launched, with a call on students to “Learn, Connect, Trade, Innovate and Lead” for Ghana and Africa.