Africa must shift from exporting raw materials to processing and adding value to its natural resources if it is to unlock the full benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office, Patience Okala, has said.
Speaking at the Streamsowers & Köhn 20th Anniversary Business Forum, Okala said the continent’s long-term economic transformation would depend on industrialization, value addition, and the effective implementation of the AfCFTA rather than the signing of trade agreements alone.
She stressed that the continental trade pact is designed to achieve far more than tariff reduction, describing it as a framework for creating jobs, strengthening regional value chains, and accelerating economic growth across Africa.
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“AfCFTA is not only about tariffs; it is also about value addition. Africa has to stop exporting raw materials. We need to add value and ensure that beneficiation is done on the continent,” she said.
Okala noted that the success of the AfCFTA would ultimately be measured by the extent to which businesses can access new markets, trade seamlessly across borders, and benefit from the opportunities created by the agreement.
“We have moved beyond negotiations. The success of AfCFTA will be measured by the extent to which businesses can access new markets, trade seamlessly across borders, and benefit from the opportunities created by the agreement,” she added.
She said Nigeria had intensified efforts to implement the agreement under the leadership of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, including the development of simplified AfCFTA guides in six languages to help businesses better understand and take advantage of opportunities under the continental trade framework.
Okala also called for closer collaboration among governments, regulators, and the private sector to remove barriers to trade and investment, saying stronger partnerships would be critical to building an integrated African market.
According to her, the next phase of the AfCFTA requires practical implementation that delivers measurable benefits for businesses across the continent, particularly micro,small,l and medium-sized enterprises, women-owned businesses, and young entrepreneurs.
“As we move from policy to implementation, our collective responsibility is to ensure that the opportunities created by AfCFTA become practical realities for businesses, particularly MSMEs, women-owned enterprises, and young entrepreneurs across the continent,” she said.
The AfCFTA, which aims to create the world’s largest free trade area by number of participating countries, is expected to boost intra-African trade, deepen regional integration, and support industrial development by encouraging countries to process more of their natural resources locally rather than exporting raw commodities
