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MAR 02, 2021 | BLOG
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A Continental Free Trade Area For

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Africa - Driven By Emerging
Technologies
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The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was founded by the African Union in 2018
and commenced operating on the 1st of January 2021. Primarily, AfCFTA was created to
heighten intra-African trade by providing comprehensive and mutually beneficial
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trading
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opportunities within Member States for exporters and importers. The agreement includes
trading goods and services, investments, intellectual property rights, and competition policy
between and within African countries. As such, AfCFTA is a flagship initiative that can promote
accomplishing the African Union’s Agenda 2063, United Nation’s Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) and Science Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA-2024) by
Goals (SDGs) and Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA 2024) by
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improving employment Are (/who-we-are)
opportunities and skillset development, as well as further enhance
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Africa’s industrialization aspirations through effective exports and imports. Through various
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Who We development and well-aligned policy frameworks within Member States,
infrastructural
Are will empower previously disadvantaged populations by providing massive
AfCFTA
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entrepreneurship and job creation opportunities, more especially to women and youth.[1] This
will be accomplished by enabling effective exporting and importing trade linkages between
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approximately 1.2 billion people of the African continent.[2]
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However, for the African continent to realize the benefits of the free trade opportunities,
governments need to enhance the continent’s infrastructure so to enable efficient management
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of transportation of goods and services across the continent. This includes technology interface
platforms
We Work suitable for the marketing of goods and services, and the management of financial
and banking solutions between Africa’s exporters and importers. This includes export safety
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management systems and tracking applications during the transportation of goods and
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rendering of services. As such, the utilization of various digital trading technology platforms
becomes necessary to promote better AfCFTA adaptation and implementation.[3] Thus,
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harnessing AfCFTA-enabling technology such as digital technology empowered by blockchain
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technology, artificial intelligence, next generation batteries, robotics, 3D printing, drone  

technology, among others, will enable African countries to easily harmonize the delivery of
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intra-continental trading of goods and services.

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Notably, harnessing emerging technologies for AfCFTA will not only help eliminate paper-  
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based port management systems between exporting and importing countries but will also
allow for faster and easier communication and payment systems. Fundamentally, such systems
can function through single-click interface applications that can significantly reduce trading
costs and efforts for exporters. Furthermore, such technology applications will enable exporters
and importers to effortlessly track goods up to delivery on desired destinations. For example,
blockchain-enabled technologies such as cryptocurrencies and distributed ledger management
systems can enable secure payment systems and verifiable record of transactions between
exporters and importers.[4] Drones and robotics will assist with survey and management
systems, and delivery of goods. Next generation batteries will help power smart cellular
phones and mobile infrastructure necessary for trading platforms. Furthermore, through
artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies (such as cryptocurrencies) enabled digital
technologies, digital trading payments across exporters and importers can be easily executed
through the click-of-a-button interface applications. In addition, such technologies can reliably
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integrate and coordinate various systematic digital trading platforms across the continent for
financial, banking, and taxation solutions.

The African Union High Level Panel on Innovation and Emerging Technologies (APET) is
encouraging  African Member States to establish and install enabling infrastructural and policy
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frameworksMandate
that will(/who-we-are#mandate)
support the effective harnessing and utilization of
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innovation and
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emerging technologies towards accomplishing the management and execution of AfCFTA. For
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example, African governments should integrate different digital technology management
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platforms on common standards and frameworks and be incorporated into the existing export
and import infrastructural systems. Such common frameworks will allow for the establishment
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of cross-cutting digital systems that will enable exporters and importers to seamlessly conduct
What and trade across African countries, irrespective of their location. This will further be
business
promoted
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offers reliable internet connection and robust broadband access across all African countries.
Finally,
Wherethese technologies will not only enhance technological trade platforms for AfCFTA but
also establish and pioneer Africa’s trade revolution across the world.
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Authors: APET Secretariat
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Justina Dugbazah
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Barbara Glover  

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Bhekani
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Chifundo Kungade  
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[1] https://www.tralac.org/resources/our-resources/6730-continental-free-trade-area-cfta.html

[2] African Continental Free Trade Area Completes First Month of Trading. February 2021.
http://sdg.iisd.org/commentary/policy-briefs/african-continental-free-trade-area-completes-first-
month-of-trading/.

[3] The promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). DISCUSSION PAPER No.
287. https://ecdpm.org/wp-content/uploads/Promise-African-Continental-Free-Trade-Area-
AfCFTA-ECDPM-Discussion-Paper-287-December-2020.pdf. 
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[4] E. Ganne, Can Blockchain revolutionize international trade? World Trade Organization,
Switzerland, ISBN 978-92-870-4761-8. https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/KJDPQKBE.