The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), the country’s leading industrial lobby group, has said numerous issues must be resolved before local businesses can join the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Formed in 2018, with 46 parties signed to AfCFTA, it aims to generate $450 billion by 2035 for Africa’s GDP.
Yet, whilst the majority of African states have signed on to AfCFTA, most of the private sector is still unaware of exactly what it entails.
“Developments from the AfCFTA reveals that there is a private sector mapping initiative, which helps the private sector to identify opportunities for collective action, key challenges, or success factors for industry engagement,” according to the CZI in its latest business oversight article.
“This also underlines that there are a number of issues still needed for Zimbabwe businesses to be ready to exploit the opportunities that will arise from continental integration.”
Last November, during the African Industrialisation week in Niger, the AfCFTA secretariat, in partnership with the International Trade Centre, unveiled the “Private Sector Mapping” strategy to help understanding of the free trade agreement, News Day reports.
“The crucial role of the private sector in driving intra-African trade and industrial capacity is already acknowledged. It is on this basis that the ‘AfCFTA Private Sector Engagement Strategy, 2022-32’ was launched in November 2021,” CZI added
The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries also said it was crucial for the country’s private sector to participate in the mapping process.
“Private sector mapping is the process of detailing how the private sector can engage with the AfCFTA (International Trade Centre, 2022). The mapping helps the private sector to identify opportunities for collective action, key challenges, or success factors for industry engagement on given topics and serves as a foundation for private sector-led policy dialogues,” said CZI.
“It was noted during the meeting that the private sector needs greater access to information on market trends and better awareness of business opportunities on a local, regional, and global scale which would contribute significantly to increasing trade activity and foster job creation across Africa.”
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