Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat Wamkele Mene has announced that 39 countries will commence trade under the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) this year.

The Initiative which was launched in 2022 with Ghana and six other countries is seen as a test to the operational, institutional, legal and trade policy environment of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement in order to allow commercially meaningful trading, and to send a positive message to African economic operators and firms about the AfCFTA.

However speaking at the opening Ceremony of the Biashara Africa Summit which is underway in Kigali Rwanda, Wamkele Mene told the assembly of private and state actors that “Since the signing of the AfCFTA here in March 2018, 48 countries have ratified the Agreement, negotiations of all of the Protocols have been successfully concluded and those Protocols have been adopted by the Assembly of Heads of States & Government of the AU. More importantly, commercially meaningful trade has commenced, under the GTI, which was launched in 2022 with 7 countries, this year 39 countries will trade under the GTI”.

Touching on concerns about the exact volume of trade happening under the AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene noted that there’s evidence available to his outfit which indicates that trading is actually happening under the Free Trade Agreement.

“Commercially meaningful trade under the preferences of the AfCFTA is therefore taking place, although modest in volume, we see trade happening” he said while adding that Large and small economies are issuing AfCFTA Certificates of Origin for exports to other State Parties.

The Secretary-General recounted his experience in Nigeria where he witnessed the Issuance of the first Certificate of Origin to a woman owned SME on 16 July that Certificate of Origin was issued to Mama Chinwe Ezenwa, the CEO of Lelook. This he described as a remarkable example of prospects for our women led SMEs, where we fully implement the Protocol on Women & Youth in Trade.

Less than one month ago, Rwanda, in collaboration with its partners, shipped a consignment to Ghana under the AfCFTA that included 400 kg of tea, 400 kg of coffee, 100 liters of avocado oil, and 50 liters of honey. “Although modest in volume, this shipment is part of a broader trend established since October 2022, focusing on trade in diversified, value-added goods, signaling a strategic shift away from traditional raw commodity exports” Wankele Mene said.

The Biashara Afrika Summit which opened this week in Kigali Rwanda is seeking to harness industry leaders, policymakers, and entrepreneurs in a bid to drive the future of Africa’s trade landscape.

By 2030, the African Union wants to create a safe, unified digital market throughout the continent. It holds that firms would be able to access larger consumers and generate employment by enhancing digital and physical linkages by removing obstacles like broadband coverage gaps and digital illiteracy.

Rwanda was one of the first Countries to Adopt the AfCFTA framework after the 10th Extra-Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of States & Government of the African Union signed an agreement, establishing the AfCFTA on the 21st of March 2018.