Among the New Year’s Day celebrations held across Africa, it is unlikely that too many people will have raised a glass to celebrate the first birthday of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Officially launched on January 1, 2021, with the promise of creating the world’s largest free-trade area by number of participating countries, the AfCFTA’s benefits have yet to be felt by businesses and governments across the continent.
Despite this, the project — designed to replicate the benefits of previous African regional free-trade areas, such as the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community, on a continent-wide basis — has recorded quiet but significant progress in its first year of operations. In addition to the operational rollout of a continent-wide payment and settlement system, significant agreements among nation states have been made on rules of origin.
