The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the ambitious project establishing tariff-free trading between from the Cape to Cairo, turns one in January. And while the continent’s businesses and governments have seen little tangible benefit thus far, the project has recorded a few significant milestones in its first year.
Negotiations on rules of origin were edging towards completion as The Banker went to press, with agreement still pending on automobiles, sugar, clothing and textiles. The AfCFTA secretariat and the African Export–Import Bank rolled out a pan-African payment and settlement system in September, with an adjustment fund of at least $1bn set for launch in early 2022.
