Imagine a continent where goods and services flow freely across borders, where people and capital move with ease, and where innovation thrives and trade flourishes.
This is the vision of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a game-changing project that aims to create a single market for 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion.
The AfCFTA is not just about trade, but also about transformation. It is about unleashing the potential of Africa’s young, talented, and creative population, who can use their skills, ideas, and solutions to solve the continent’s challenges and seize its opportunities.
It is about fostering a culture of innovation, which can boost productivity, quality, and value addition in various sectors of the economy.
The 2023 Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) Connect Africa Symposium was a remarkable event that demonstrated the power of innovation and trade in Africa.
The symposium took place in the city of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, under the theme “Unlocking Africa’s Potential: Innovation, Competitiveness, and Sustainable Development”.
The symposium aimed to provide a platform for dialogue and exchange of ideas among various actors from the public and private sectors, academia, civil society, and regional and continental organisations.
The symposium also sought to identify opportunities and challenges for enhancing Africa’s competitiveness and sustainable development in the context of the AfCFTA and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
The trade fair was held at a critical time when the AfCFTA Secretariat was almost done with the negotiations of the Protocol on Digital Trade, which is a key instrument for facilitating Africa’s adoption of the 4IR technologies and innovations.
One of the distinguished speakers at the symposium was H.E. Wamkele Mene, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat. In his keynote address, H.E. Mene highlighted how the AfCFTA can enhance innovation and trade in Africa by reducing trade barriers, harmonizing standards and policies, facilitating cross-border movement, and disseminating best practices.
He also urged more investment in research and development, education and skills development, infrastructure, and digital connectivity to support innovation and trade.
He also highlighted the role of trade fairs as “platforms for showcasing Africa’s innovations to potential buyers, investors and partners”.
He applauded Zimbabwe for hosting the ZITF Connect Africa Symposium, which he said was a timely initiative to promote regional integration and intra-African trade under the AfCFTA.
He also praised Zimbabwe’s innovative young women and men in business and technology, who displayed their products and solutions at the symposium.
One of the innovations that H.E. Mene unveiled at the symposium was the AfCFTA Hub, a digital platform that interconnects national, regional, and private digital applications to boost the ability of SMEs to expand their business and/or export their products across Africa through improved logistics, networking of retail outlets, integration of fintech and brand development support1.
The AfCFTA Hub aims to address some of the non-tariff barriers faced by women and youth entrepreneurs in Africa, such as lack of access to information, markets, finance, and networks.
The ZITF Connect Africa Symposium was in line with the AU theme of the Year 2023: “The Year of AfCFTA: Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area Implementation”.
The theme reflects the AU’s commitment to fast-track the implementation of the AfCFTA and harness its benefits for the African people. The theme also calls for greater political will, coordination, collaboration, and cooperation among all stakeholders involved in the AfCFTA process.
The AfCFTA is more than a trade agreement; it is a vision for a prosperous, integrated and peaceful Africa.
By unlocking Africa’s potential through innovation and trade, the AfCFTA can contribute to achieving the aspirations and goals of Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.
Tanatsiwa Dambuza is a graduate with MSc in International Trade and Diplomacy and a Regional Integration Expert and Consultant with special focus on AfCFTA, SADC, EAC and COMESA. He is the Founder of Zimbabwe Institute of African Integration and an advocate for youth, women and SMEs inclusion in regional trade negotiations and processes. He can be contacted on tanatsiwadambuza62@gmail.com or +263779988050
