BTA2023 The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is transforming how Africa thinks about investment, industrial development and economic integration, according to Dr Rob Davies, South Africa’s former Minister of Trade and Industry.
Dr Davies says AfCFTA’s Investment Protocol represents a major shift from traditional investment models by striking a balance between the right of governments to regulate and commitments to sustainability, development and inclusive growth.
Speaking on Africa’s long-term industrial trajectory, Davies argued that the continent’s future does not lie in isolated national projects or the continued export of raw materials, but in building strong regional value chains anchored in coordination and value addition.
“Africa’s industrial future lies in regional value chains, not fragmented industrial development,” he said, stressing that integration must move beyond commodity exports toward strategic industrial planning and shared production networks.
Davies explained that AfCFTA offers an opportunity to rethink multilateralism from an African perspective — one that prioritises development outcomes rather than simply market access. From operationalising priority value chains to leveraging critical minerals for downstream processing, he said the real test lies in turning AfCFTA’s legal commitments into tangible economic transformation.
AfCFTA, established in 2018, is the world’s largest free trade area by number of participating countries, covering 1.3 billion people across Africa. The agreement was brokered by the African Union (AU) and signed by 44 of its 55 member states in Kigali, Rwanda, on March 21, 2018.
The agreement entered into force on May 30, 2019, after receiving the required 22 ratifications, and officially began trading on January 1, 2021. Its permanent secretariat is headquartered in Accra, Ghana, where negotiations and implementation continue to be coordinated.
Under AfCFTA, member states have committed to eliminating tariffs on most goods and services over transition periods of 5, 10, or 13 years, depending on development levels and product sensitivity.
Beyond trade liberalisation, the agreement’s long-term goals include creating a single continental market, reducing barriers to capital and labour mobility, developing regional infrastructure, and laying the groundwork for a future continental customs union.
Ultimately, AfCFTA aims to boost socioeconomic development, reduce poverty and strengthen Africa’s competitiveness in the global economy. For Davies, its success will depend on whether African countries use the framework to industrialise together, rather than compete against one another for fragmented investment flows.
