Dr. Ernest Addison, governor of the Bank of Ghana, has urged all financial institutions in Ghana to work together and benefit from the opportunities provided by the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in order to advance the nation’s trade initiatives.
The AfCFTA, according to Dr. Addison, is one of the centerpiece initiatives of the African Union’s “Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want,” which seeks to promote trade among 55 African nations and is expected to increase the continent’s income by US$450 billion by 2035. The market size of the AfCFTA is approximately 1.2 billion people.
According to him, the main goals of the AfCFTA are to develop a single market for products and services and encourage free trade and investment among African nations.
Through improved trade liberalization and facilitation regime cooperation and harmonization, the Agreement aims to increase intra-African commerce. In Africa, trade is still a key factor in economic growth and development. Although intra-African commerce has grown recently, Asia and Europe continue to be the continent’s top trading partners.
The main obstacles to commerce on the African continent are a heavy reliance on trade in primary goods, a high product and market concentration of exporters, and inadequate regional manufacturing networks.
Last week, he remarked, “The trade limits in Africa are primarily linked to small, fractured, and partially-isolated markets,” in remarks made at the Ghana Trade Road show Session with the Banking and Finance Community. Therefore, the AfCFTA’s efficient implementation would be a huge step forward, and the Agreement shows how ready Africa is to join the global trade agenda.
“To play a relevant role in this space, the continent must strategically position itself to take advantage of the opportunities AfCFTA presents. This would require commitment from all countries and all stakeholders. The Africa Trade roadshow series is coming at an opportune time to help facilitate and create the enabling environment for trade for all stakeholders in the trade industry in Ghana
“The growth of the financial sector and access to capital are the cornerstones of African integration and development. Inadequate payment system infrastructure has been cited as a significant barrier to intra-African trade in addition to fragmented markets. The majority of payments sent within Africa go through correspondent banks before they are received by the recipient African neighbor. High transaction fees, compliance expenses, foreign exchange conversion rates, and liquidity expenses are all associated with this.