Free trade proponents received a little bit of bad news recently. According to a report by the Aya Institute for Women, Politics, and Media, a think tank located in Accra, many women and youth don’t know very much about the opportunities that are available to them under the AfCFTA.
According to the Institute’s Programmes Coordinator, Bridget Biney, technical experts and larger businesses are far more likely to know about the AfCFTA and what it means for a company’s operations than owners of micro, small, and medium size enterprises, or MSMEs.
Findings such as this are quite unfortunate given the fact that MSMEs are a critical part of many African economies. In addition, while the AfCFTA may be a beneficial piece of legislation that has the potential to significantly help those who have the ability to trade under it, unless average business owners know about the new opportunities that are available to them, significant change is unlikely to happen.
Nevertheless, there has also been some good news when it comes to Africa’s trading landscape. The United Kingdom has temporarily removed tariffs on cut flowers, potentially providing a large boost to the ability of East African flower growers to sell to the UK. Developments like this are encouraging, and potentially give signs of a bright future for African producers.
Alexander Jelloian
Alexander Jelloian is the Research and Project Manager at the Initiative for African Trade and Prosperity.
Free trade proponents received a little bit of bad news recently. According to a report by the Aya Institute for Women, Politics, and Media, a think tank located in Accra, many women and youth don’t know very much about the opportunities that are available to them under the AfCFTA.
According to the Institute’s Programmes Coordinator, Bridget Biney, technical experts and larger businesses are far more likely to know about the AfCFTA and what it means for a company’s operations than owners of micro, small, and medium size enterprises, or MSMEs.
Findings such as this are quite unfortunate given the fact that MSMEs are a critical part of many African economies. In addition, while the AfCFTA may be a beneficial piece of legislation that has the potential to significantly help those who have the ability to trade under it, unless average business owners know about the new opportunities that are available to them, significant change is unlikely to happen.
Nevertheless, there has also been some good news when it comes to Africa’s trading landscape. The United Kingdom has temporarily removed tariffs on cut flowers, potentially providing a large boost to the ability of East African flower growers to sell to the UK. Developments like this are encouraging, and potentially give signs of a bright future for African producers.
Alexander Jelloian
Alexander Jelloian is the Research and Project Manager at the Initiative for African Trade and Prosperity.