The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), is set to launch a payment and settlement digital platform with the aim of enhancing market access within the region.

The Secretary-General of the AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene, who made this known at the 2nd National Conference on the AfCFTA in Accra on Tuesday, said the payment and settlement digital platform will augment the efforts of enhancing market access within Africa.

The National Conference on the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, brought together relevant stakeholders, to discuss export development interventions geared towards empowering the private sector to harness the benefits of AFCFTA.

It was under the theme, Empowering Ghanaian Businesses to Harness the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement under the framework of the National Export Development Strategy.

Background

The Africa Continental Free Trade Area will bring together all 55 member states of the African Union covering a market of more than 1.2 billion people, including a growing middle class, and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US$3.4 trillion.

In terms of numbers of participating countries, the AfCFTA will be the world’s largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organization.

Estimates from the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) suggest that the AfCFTA has the potential both to boost intra-African trade by 52.3 percent by eliminating import duties and to double this trade if non-tariff barriers are also reduced.

Source: Citibusiness