Africa’s New Landscape for Doing Business: The African Continental Free Trade Area

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is the product of the continent’s growing desire to become more self-sufficient. Intra-African trade is limited, and regional disparities are severe. This chapter discussed the potential benefits of the AfCFTA, including promoting economic growth, fostering industrialisation, improving infrastructure, strengthening regional integration and cooperation, boosting intra-African trade, growth of small and medium enterprises, improving formal trading by African women, and achieving Agenda 2030 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also identified key challenges that must be addressed to fully realise the potential benefits of the AfCFTA which include loss of revenue, high adjustment cost, intense competition, theft of intellectual property, and wide variation in the levels of development. Considering the potential that the AfCFTA is projected to provide for Africa, member nations need to prioritise the AfCFTA in their trade and foreign policies. Clearly, the future of doing business in Africa will depend largely on the successful implementation of the AfCFTA and other initiatives aimed at promoting economic integration and growth on the continent.