The AfCFTA Adjustment Fund was designed to provide short to medium-term financial support to State Parties and eligible private sector projects that may be adversely affected by declining fiscal revenues as a result of tariff reductions and reduced competitiveness arising from trade liberalisation.

The Secretary General of the AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene at a news conference to herald the Biashara Afrika Summit in Rwanda told journalists that his outfit has mobilised raised $1 billion of capital injection into the fund with plans underway to meet the target of $10 billion.

“There have been a number of meetings and engagements that the board, including some of the subcommittees of the board, such as the credit fund, have been meeting. We expect that the first disbursement will be early next year,” the Secretary-General stated adding that “we expect that it will be both governments and the private sector that seek support.”

The AfCFTA Adjustment Fund will have a semblance of blended finance that will include grants, concessional loans and other financing options that will help to shore up the investment needs of eligible actors both from the sovereign domain and the private sector.

Responding to a question on the disbursement formula, Wamkele Mene noted that “It is up to the fund to decide how to deploy the capital. Although we are a board member and we are in a partnership with an African bank and the fund, we want the fund to operate at arm’s length, to have operational independence so that it can function without interference by any of us”.

Given this, Secretary-General Mene further explained that the fund will remain open to all member states whether or not the country has started trading under the rules of the AfCFTA.

“Where a country or even a private sector identifies specific opportunities or specific interests, let us say to start a manufacturing capacity for components of a vehicle to supply Toyota.

This is the kind of productive activity and manufacturing activity that we envisage the fund to support. So early next year is where we expect that the disbursements will commence”.

A board meeting on the Adjustment Fund is scheduled to take place in Rwanda this week where AfCFTA Secretariat believes that all the associated matters related to the preparation for the disbursement and mobilisation of more funds will be discussed.

This, the Secretary-General explains will pave the way for a roadshow that will seek to draw more investments for the fund.

The Biashara Afrika Summit hosted by the Republic of Rwanda is seeking to drive more investments for the successful implantation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

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He was speaking at the 5th anniversary celebration of the Council on Foreign Relations Ghana, on the theme “The Limits of the Current Development Co-operation Framework for Africa’s Transformation.”

The President highlighted AfCFTA as a key component of a new paradigm for development cooperation in Africa.

The AfCFTA Agreement, according to President Akufo-Addo, represents a bold and transformative initiative aimed at accelerating intra-African trade, promoting industrialization, and fostering economic integration across the continent.

He noted that the agreement seeks to create a single market for goods and services, encompassing 54 countries and over 1.3 billion people, and has the capacity to significantly boost intra-African trade.

“Enhanced economic integration can lead to economies of scale, increased competitiveness, and greater market access for African businesses,” President Akufo-Addo stated. He cited a United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) report which projects that intra-African trade could be 34% higher by 2045 with the AfCFTA than without it.

President Akufo-Addo also highlighted the potential of the AfCFTA to drive industrialization and create decent jobs for Africa’s growing population.

He emphasised that one of the serious challenges facing Africa is the reliance on the export of raw materials with little value addition. The AfCFTA Agreement, he argued, provides an opportunity to shift towards industrialization and value addition by creating a larger market for manufactured goods and promoting regional value chains.

By encouraging investment in manufacturing and processing industries, the AfCFTA can help create jobs and drive economic growth across the continent.

“The establishment of a continental free trade area should magnify Africa’s attractiveness as an investment destination,” the President stated, adding that the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement can create a more predictable and stable business environment, attracting both domestic and foreign investment.

In his speech, President Akufo-Addo also addressed the role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Africa’s economies, noting that they contribute significantly to employment and income generation. He pointed out that SMEs often face challenges related to market access, financing, and regulatory constraints.

The AfCFTA, he argued, can provide new opportunities for SMEs by expanding their market reach and reducing trade barriers.

The President highlighted the SME Growth and Opportunity Programme he recently launched, which aims to provide targeted financing solutions and technical assistance to SMEs in Ghana. The program, he explained, is an important step towards creating a viable SME ecosystem that will empower businesses with high-growth potential to scale up and create impact across their communities.

In conclusion, President Akufo-Addo reiterated the transformative potential of the AfCFTA Agreement, stating that it represents a central component of the new paradigm for development cooperation in Africa.

He expressed confidence that by leveraging the opportunities presented by the AfCFTA, Africa can drive economic integration, industrialization, and inclusive growth, ultimately achieving the transformative change to which the continent aspires.

Source: Presidency

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Speaking at the 2024 World Economic Forum event on “Driving Action Under the African Continental Free Trade Area and Launching the First AfCFTA Private Sector Action Plan”, on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, President Akufo-Addo indicated that there is the need for private participation if AfCFTA is to be as transformational as envisaged.

“Critically, active private sector participation will be key to the success of this transformational initiative. 

“Excellencies, let’s not lose sight of the fact that the AfCFTA is not a “government initiative”, rather it represents the first step toward empowering our private sector to lead the economic emancipation and transformation of our continent,” he indicated.

He also assured the global economic community of Ghana’s unflinching commitment to the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area and recognises its potential to change the course of the continent’s economic development.

“As the host of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Ghana is committed to the success of the AfCFTA, and recognises its potential to change the trajectory of Africa’s economic development.

It is a well-known fact that, for Africa to grow, she must overcome a legacy of market fragmentation, stemming from the many political and economic barriers that have stifled the continent’s developmental potential” he stated.

Viewed from this lens, President Akufo-Addo said “AfCFTA is a vision for a “new emancipated Africa that trades with herself, creates jobs for her peoples and produces what she consumes”.

Ghana recognises the transformative potential of this vision, and she is committed to doing her part to take advantage of the AfCFTA initiative and the opportunities it presents”.

He also spoke about what the Ghanaian Government has done to realize the full benefits of AfCFTA. “The Ghanaian Government has put in place a national AfCFTA Policy Framework, duly launched in August 2022, to provide the requisite strategic direction necessary for realising the full benefits of the AfCFTA.

Additionally, seven thematic working groups were constituted under a National AfCFTA Coordination Office to oversee the facilitation of trade policy, infrastructure development, trade finance and factor market integration to support the national AfCFTA Policy Framework and Action Plan”

Moreover, according to the President, the National AfCFTA Coordination Office launched a programme in 2020 to identify firms and businesses with strong export potential to support them in expanding their presence across African markets. 

Against the backdrop of sudden and dramatic disruptions to supply chains for essential products and increasingly frequent global crises, Ghana, he stressed, believes genuinely that the time has come to move towards an economic model which first and foremost serves Africa. 

To realize fully the benefits of the AfCFTA, President Akufo-Addo indicated that there is an urgent necessity to address the critical need to finance and develop adequate infrastructure and services so that domestic businesses can trade extensively beyond their borders. 

In addition, long-term cooperation in investment and competition policies will be essential to overcoming market dominance by a few actors and reducing structural and regulatory barriers to market entry, according to the President.

“Also, concerns relating to the destruction of jobs, currency manipulation, the proliferation of “cheap substitutes”, and the use of smaller nations as a beachhead for “tax-dodging” multinationals, must be addressed. 

“Taken together, economic benefits, such as additional GDP growth of one to three per cent, employment growth of some 1.2%, intra-African trade growth of 33%, and a 50% decline in Africa’s trade deficit, must strengthen our resolve towards leveraging the AfCFTA for the realization of a united, prosperous, and self-reliant Africa” he emphasised.

“Truly, we are one step closer finally to making Africa a proud, connected continent, where people cannot only realise their ambitions but also do so in an atmosphere of continental brotherhood,” he told the gathering.

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Delivering a welcome address on the theme: Accelerating Economic Growth: Amplifying Ghana’s Global Market Footprint Through AfCFTA, the CEO of GIPC, Yofi Grant stated that the described the gathering as a landmark summit which has brought together investors, traders, policy makers, exhibitors for economic and political prosperity of the continent of Africa.

According to him intra-trade among African countries has only achieved not more than 15 percent annually whiles intra-Africa investments which are mostly from North and Southern African countries is less than five percent.

Mr Yofi Grant stated that AfCFTA provides a golden opportunity to change the narrative for the better where small businesses on the continent can trade among themselves across borders.

“..But the AfCFTA without a doubt creates a very important but enormous opportunity to change those dynamics, but not just to change those dynamics but an opportunity for the African economies especially most of whom are dominated by SMEs and SMIs” Mr. Grant emphasised.

The free trade area, he said is expected to increase intra-Africa trade by some 33 percent and reduce its trade deficit by 51 percent.

The GIPC boss revealed that, Afreximbank and other banks in Ghana have created a pan-african payment platform to enhance trade among businesses.

He explained that, the payment system allows businesses to effect payment using the local currencies in their countries of location.

This, he said will enhance job creation especially among young people on the continent.

Mr. Yofi Grant said Africa is referred to as a wealthy nation but its people are not wealthy and predicted with great optimism that the continent which is a repository of not less than 40 percent of the world’s remaining mineral resources especially the transition minerals, will become the world’s engine place and saviour in the next decade and charged all to help make this a reality.

“I have no doubt in my mind that Africa would save the world in the next decade” he stated.

Ghana, he said motivated by two factors namely goals one and seventeen of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) which emphasizes poverty alleviation and global partnership for linkages in trade Most important for Ghana.

Hosting the Secretariat of AFCFTA he said provides an opportunity for Ghana to be the change it wants to see by ceasing the moment with all its advantages.

The country, he said, is pursuing notable policies such as the One District One Factory Ghana and working to improve its infrastructure including road and rail to enhance its competitiveness.

The summit is on the theme: Accelerating Economic Growth: Amplifying Ghana’s Global Market Footprint Through AfCFTA.

Vice President of MIE Group, a key collaborator for the summit, Zahoor Ahmed assured of his outfits commitment to help build bridges with key stakeholders for to bring global focus and enhance greater participation in future Ghana Investment Trade summits.

A representative of the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industries, Emmanuel T. Martey in an address proposed the need for the adoption of Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for the delivery if the needed infrastructure for the country since central government cannot do it alone.

He underscored the need for extraordinary efforts to achieve excellence at the end of the summit with the development of a blueprint with actionable timelines to inform policy decisions. 

Activities marking the three day summit include Fireside discussion sessions with CEO of the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA), Ambassador Edward Boateng and panel discussions on the Role of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in becoming economic superhighways, exhibitions among others.

The event was graced by the South African High Commissioner to Ghana, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Free Zones Authority, Chief Executive Officer of SIGA, Ambassador Edward Boateng and the Pakistani Ambassador to Ghana.

According to the AfCFTA Secretariat, following the positive test result at KIA, Mr Mane went into quarantine whilst receiving guidance and advice from his medical team, who advised he took another test.

“Consequently, His Excellency undertook two independent tests, from two different private labs. Both independent PCR tests returned a negative result, clearing the Secretary General of Covid 19,” the Secretariat stated in a press release.

However, the Secretariat is concerned the Covid-19 antigen test at KIA produced a false positive result.

They stated that “almost two weeks ago, he received the Johnson & Johnson (J & J) vaccine, which should provide him with an additional measure of protection. His Excellency continues to adhere to all prescribed Covid 19 protocols.”

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The Secretariat is, however, not alone in this assertion.

Some travelers who touched down at the Kotoka international airport last weekend are also raising questions about the test and operations of the airport on Covid-19.

Some of them who are currently on mandatory quarantine at Pantang say they have either been denied the opportunity to run a second test or see the results of the second PCI.

Others also say they have never received any medical attention, since they checked into the facility.

They are therefore calling on the government to investigate.

The award was presented to President Akufo-Addo by the African Union Commission (AUC) in a virtual event held at the Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Friday, January 15, 2021.

President Akufo-Addo is among the few African leaders to have first advocated for the creation and subsequent implementation of the AfCFTA, with Ghana being among the few countries to first ratify the trade agreement.

President Akufo-Addo’s push for the implementation of the AfCFTA saw Ghana win its bid to host the Secretariat of the AfCFTA.

Seven other African heads of state were awarded alongside the president.

They include Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, Felix Tshekedi of Congo, Ahmed Fattah Al-Sisi of Egypt, Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger, President Alpha Conde of Guinea, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and Chairperson of the AUC, and Paul Kagame of Rwanda.

President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, was also awarded.

King Mswati III, Ngwenyama of Eswatini and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia, alongside Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo were also awarded during the virtual event.

President of the Federation of West Africa Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, Saratu Aliyu, thanked African leaders and private stakeholders for making the AfCFTA implementation possible and expressed hope that the agreement would boost e-commerce and e-business infrastructure, and develop a roadmap for the development of a digital economy to support the growth in member states.

The AfCFTA agreement has created the largest free trade area in the world measured by the number of countries participating.

The trade pact connects 1.3 billion people across 55 countries with a combined Gross Domestic Product valued at $3.4 trillion.

The AfCFTA is expected to boost intra-African trade from the current 15 per cent to over 81 per cent by 2035.

Speaking at the 2nd National Conference on the African Continental Free Trade Area, held on Tuesday, October 20, 2020, at the Accra International Conference Centre, President Akufo-Addo explained that the AfCFTA will ensure that trading among Member States on the continent will be duty-free and quota-free.

According to the President, the AfCFTA, which is a market of some 1.2 billion people, will boost significantly intra-African trade, stimulate investment and innovation, diversify exports, improve food security, foster structural transformation, enhance economic growth, unleash the entrepreneurial dynamism of the African peoples, and create jobs for Africa’s youth.

“We, in Ghana, cannot afford to let this window of opportunity slip. We hope that the private sector, facilitated and actively supported by government, will be at the forefront of trying to take advantage of the vast possibilities presented by the AfCFTA,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo continued, “Ghana, like many African countries, is blessed with an abundance of resources. However, over the years, we have not been able to translate our resource wealth into the much-needed growth and development we desire, leaving our economy, still, in a fragile and unfulfilled state. The AfCFTA provides an enormous potential for trade and investments across various sectors which we must exploit.”

To take advantage of these opportunities, he explained that the government has, since his assumption of office in 2017, implemented various innovative and strategic interventions to promote and expand production and value addition.

These, he said, include the “One District One Factory” initiative; the development of new, strategic, anchor industries such as garments and textiles, pharmaceuticals, automobile assembly and component manufacturing; the programme for Planting for Food and Jobs; the Planting for Exports and Rural Development (PERD) initiative; the establishment of sixty-seven (67) Business Resource Centres, and thirty-one (31) Technology Solution Centres; and the development of Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones.

Underpinning all these initiatives, the President stressed, is the development of a robust and resilient macroeconomy, which will establish a strong foundation for the structural transformation of the Ghanaian economy.

“I draw attention to these programmes and projects to reiterate the point that, in Ghana, we have already laid the building blocks for our private sector to harness the benefits of AfCFTA,” he added.

President Akufo-Addo, thus, reaffirmed Government’s determination “to assist Ghanaian businesses to take full advantage of AfCFTA, and to ensure that the required financial and human resources are mobilised and developed to make Ghana a new manufacturing hub and financial services centre for the African continent.”

With the collective desire for shared prosperity, he was confident that the AfCFTA will succeed, and generate a new impetus and dynamism for the rapid growth of Africa’s economies, and deepen the process of integration in Africa.

“Empowered Ghanaian enterprises should be frontline actors of this new, exciting journey in Africa’s economic history. We owe it to generations unborn to ensure that the biggest trading bloc on the globe, whose outcomes will be rewarding to all Africans, and which will assist in attaining the ‘Africa We Want, does not falter,” he added.

Speaking at the 2nd National Conference on the African Continental Free Trade Area, held on Tuesday, at the Accra International Conference Centre, the President explained that the AfCFTA will ensure that trading amongst Member States on the continent will be duty-free and quota-free.

According to the President, the AfCFTA, which is a market of some 1.2 billion people, will boost significantly intra-African trade, stimulate investment and innovation, diversify exports, improve food security, foster structural transformation, enhance economic growth, unleash the entrepreneurial dynamism of the African peoples, and create jobs for Africa’s youth.

“We, in Ghana, cannot afford to let this window of opportunity slip. We hope that the private sector, facilitated and actively supported by Government, will be at the forefront of trying to take advantage of the vast possibilities presented by the AfCFTA,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo continued, “Ghana, like many African countries, is blessed with an abundance of resources. However, over the years, we have not been able to translate our resource wealth into the much-needed growth and development we desire, leaving our economy, still, in a fragile and unfulfilled state.

“The AfCFTA provides an enormous potential for trade and investments across various sectors which we must exploit.”

To take advantage of these opportunities, he explained that government has, since his assumption of office in 2017, implemented various innovative and strategic interventions to promote and expand production and value addition.

These, he said, include the “One District One Factory” initiative; the development of new, strategic, anchor industries such as garments and textiles, pharmaceuticals, automobile assembly and component manufacturing; the programme for Planting for Food and Jobs; the Planting for Exports and Rural Development (PERD) initiative; the establishment of 67 Business Resource Centres, and 31 Technology Solution Centres; and the development of Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones.

Underpinning all these initiatives, the President stressed, is the development of a robust and resilient macroeconomy, which will establish a strong foundation for the structural transformation of the Ghanaian economy.

“I draw attention to these programmes and projects to reiterate the point that, in Ghana, we have already laid the building blocks for our private sector to harness the benefits of AfCFTA,” he added.

President Akufo-Addo, thus, reaffirmed Government’s determination “to assist Ghanaian businesses to take full advantage of AfCFTA, and to ensure that the required financial and human resources are mobilised and developed to make Ghana a new manufacturing hub and financial services centre for the African continent.”

With the collective desire for shared prosperity, he was confident that the AfCFTA will succeed, and generate a new impetus and dynamism for the rapid growth of Africa’s economies, and deepen the process of integration in Africa.

“Empowered Ghanaian enterprises should be frontline actors of this new, exciting journey in Africa’s economic history. We owe it to generations unborn to ensure that the biggest trading bloc on the globe, whose outcomes will be rewarding to all Africans, and which will assist in attaining the ‘Africa We Want, does not falter,” he added.

“It is obviously not possible to commence trade as we had intended on 1 July under the current circumstances,” Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area, said during a conference call.

Mene did not say whether there was a new targeted implementation date, and left the conference call before the question and answer session.

The 55-nation continental free-trade zone would, if successful, create a $3.4 trillion economic bloc with 1.3 billion people across Africa and constitute the largest new trading bloc since the World Trade Organisation was formed in 1994.

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Mene said he was confident the deal would still go forward.

“The political commitment remains, the political will remains to integrate Africa’s market and to implement the agreement as was intended,” he said.

Mene said that as African governments do not have the firepower to launch the same type of economic stimulus packages that the United States and Europe are putting forward to mitigate the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, intra-African trade could serve the same purpose.

“That’s our stimulus package. That’s how we’re going to get back on track as Africa,” he said. 

“Surely an increase in intra-trade among African countries is one of the surest ways to promote the progress we seek for Africa,” President Akufo-Addo said.

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Speaking at the ongoing United Kingdom-Africa Investment Summit in London, President Akufo-Addo said the coming into effect of the Continental Free Trade Agreement will enable member countries exploit the abundant wealth and resource of the continent for the benefit of all Africans.

The Free Trade Agreement, according to President Akufo-Addo, will guarantee rapid increase in exchanges for agricultural, financial, technological and industrial products among African States, thereby dramatically enhancing the continent’s attainment for prosperity and employment prospects for the African youth.

AfCFTA is expected to end regional low volume intra-trade among African countries, a phenomenon which has characterised trade activities of African economies.

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Trade among African countries is low compared to countries in Europe, America and Asia. Intra-regional trade among African countries in 2000 accounted for 10 per cent of total African trade and increased to 16 per cent in 2015.   

But, intra-trade among countries in Asia, Europe and North America in the same year, accounted for 52 per cent, 70 per cent and 50 per cent of total trade respectively.  

President Akufo-Addo is optimistic the implementation of AfCFTA will help boost inter-regional trade among the African continent.

“We expect the secretariat to be up and running by March 2020 for trading to begin in the free trade area by July 2020,” he said confidently.

Speaking at the Second Edition of the Ghana Investment Opportunities Summit in the United Kingdom, President Akufo-Addo assured adequate measures are being put in place to make AfCFTA a success.

“We all know the success of AfCFTA will mean the era of low volumes of inter-regional trade that have defined the activities of the African economy will remain low,” he added.

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The President stressed the implementation of AfCFTA will signal the completion of the processes to the world’s largest trading area to exploit the abandoned wealth and resources of the continent for the benefit of the African people.

The Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) selected Ghana as the host country for the Secretariat in July 2019 at the 12th AU Extraordinary Summit held in Niamey, the capital of Niger.

This will create opportunities for Ghana to become the main trade facilitation and investment hub in Africa which will be largest trading block in the world with a GDP at about US$3trillion and a population of 1.3 billion.

The AfCFTA is also expected to attract Foreign Direct Investments into Africa with strong regional and local content to help address foreign exchange constraints.

President Akufo-Addo has revealed that his ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ policy was misunderstood by some world leaders when news of the policy first got to them.

The President made this revelation while addressing a select number of Africa’s political, traditional and business leaders in a United Nations  Development Programme (UNDP) High-Level Dialogue at the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel, on Thursday, November 7, 2019.

The programme was themed, ‘Africa’s Money for African Development: A Future Beyond Aid.’

“When I started the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ policy, a lot of people that I met were nervous and asked if I was preaching an anti-foreign, anti-European and anti-white doctrine,” the President revealed.

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“I remember the first time I met the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, that was his question but I told him it wasn’t. Rather it was about making policies and using our resources to enable us to stand on our own feet,” he explained further to Mr Juncker.

President Akufo-Addo said he allayed the fears of Mr Juncker that there was nothing in it that is meant to be hostile towards those that are investing in our economy and wanting to help us develop,” President Akufo-Addo said.

The ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ policy by President Akufo-Addo has gained global attraction, as the UNDP has adopted it for its policy direction for the entire African continent.

The two-day conference, saw over 200 delegates across the world gather in Accra to discuss issues affecting Africa’s development.

The two-day conference, which saw over 200 delegates from across the world, sought to explore ways in which Africa can optimize the use of its own resources, creativity and innovation to effectively finance its development.

And also examined the future of development in Africa and how the continent was to capitalize on the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).