To quote Dr Songwe, the effective implementation of the CFTA may have “a game-changing impact on African economies”. Africa can potentially create a single market of 1.2 billion people with over $ trillion in continental GDP. Already, intra-African trade is much more focused on value-added products than Africa’s trade with the rest of world.
Manufactured goods account for almost 42 percent of intra-African trade but only 15 percent of exports from Africa to countries outside the continent, with extra-African trade dominated by commodities. Africa is projected to see the largest increase in population of any continent in the coming thirty years: this presents both great opportunities and great challenges.