Implications of inadequate involvement of youth for successful

ate opportunities for women in informal cross-border trade, especially as informal cross-border trade constitutes a major form of informal activity in most African countries. This further supports the report by UNECA and WTO in 2019, which estimated that informal cross-border trade contributes 30-40% of trade in the intra-Southern African Development Community (SADC). Notably, 70% of informal cross-border traders are women (UNECA & WTO, 2019). As a result, the AfCFTA is also expected to impact women-owned businesses, improve sustainable livelihood and standard of living through job creation, and improve access to market across the continent. Moreover, the AfCFTA agreement has been presented as Africa’s stimulus package to address the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the African economies. Increasing trade through the AfCFTA is also hoped to provide the impetus for reforms that boost productivity and job creation, further reducing poverty. By 2035, implementing the agreement could help to lift an additional 30 million people out of extreme poverty and 68 million people out of moderate poverty. Despite the laudable promises of the AfCFTA, successful implementation of the continental agreement depends largely on variables such as the extent of youth involvement in the AfCFTA processes.

Scholars