The Chamber of Commerce and Industry France Ghana (CCIFG) in collaboration with Allianz Insurance Ghana, CalBank PLC, L’oreal West Africa, Mazars, Marina Mall and Silver Star Auto Limited has organised a maiden edition of the Hybrid Business Conference.

The event which took place at Labidi beach hotel on October 6 was on the theme “What does AfCFTA mean to Ghana.”

It sought to elaborate on the relevance of AfCFTA to Ghana.

Principal Policy Advisor in Macroeconomics and Governance Division for United Nations Economics Commission for Africa (UNECA) Dr. Joseph Atta-Mensah and member of the panel for the day, spoke about AfCFTA and its potential and welfare implication on trade.

He noted that AfCFTA is a trade agreement that comes in two phases.

"Phase one contains 3 parts namely Protocols on Trade Goods, Services and Dispute Settlement, while Phase two is presently under negotiation.

"Each protocol under Phase one focuses on an agreement that enhances intra-African trade with lower tariffs, removed barriers, mechanisms for dispute resolution, all leading to the harmonization of custom protocols," he added.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) started in 2012, where
Heads of African states gathered in Ethiopia with a common goal to accelerate and deepen regional integration through trade.

In 2019, the decision to establish the AfCFTA agreement took place in Kigali,
Rwanda and has to date 54 countries signed and 30 countries ratified.

Second speaker who was introduced as Atta-Mensah at the event also touched on the reason for the creation of AfCFTA and what it means to Ghana.

Atta-Mensah stated that Ghana can benefit a $82 million increase in trade creation with trade diversion estimated at $66 million with its membership with AfCFTA.

He, however, noted that, for Ghana to benefit from trade, there is the need for the country to assess its measuring ambitions and exploit commodities as well as services that require manufacturing and production, in order to add value to the finished product as opposed to the present day export of raw commodities; gold, cocoa and timber.

National President for Borderless Alliance West Africa and Executive Director of Transport and Operations at Tarzan Enterprise Ltd Mr. Ziad Hamoui also focused on the role of the young generation in the AfCFTA region.

Mr. Hamoui who spoke via zoom, elaborated on the opportunities and challenges currently available for Regional Economic Integration, stating that Africa has a huge potential in terms of trade.

He, however, said there is the need to conduct a comparative analysis between private enterprises and policy makers to strike a balanced
common ground for both entities to work together to enhance trade benefits.

"The volume of intra-African regional trade is estimated at 15.4% and this indicates the opportunity for local businesses to develop strategies that will aid trade acceleration and increased volume in production," he said.

He added that the creation of this trade agreement – AfCFTA provides an immense opportunity for the youth to develop their skills to compete within the African region and with competitors from developed
countries.

In his final remarks, the facilitator mentioned that AfCFTA is a key that should drive regional integration between African countries in terms of trade, and this could be achieved through enhanced manufacturing and production of raw materials processed into more valuable commodities for sale on the market.

CCI France Ghana

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) France Ghana is an association of 160 companies and professionals within various sectors of activity which aims at supporting, fostering and enhancing bilateral trade and investment relations between French and Ghanaian companies.

With over 20 business sectors represented, the CCIFG acts as a business support system to its members and Partners by providing information through market studies, product-market testing, prospective missions as well as trade shows.

To contribute to business growth for members, CCIFG continues to organise informative events to share practical information and create a platform to establish new business partnerships.

The Business Breakfast organised comprises the activities by the CCIFG to provide impactful information needed for business activity available to its network.