Let’s make AfCFTA a reality - GIPC boss

that it takes o fully and that is why I mentioned in my remarks that it is happening at a very good time to see how they can streamline regulations, goods, resources, work with government institutions.

IPAs attract not just any investments, but sustainable investments.

The CEO of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Yo Grant has rallied Investment Promotions Agencies (IPAs) across the continent to take advantage of the relationships among member states to strengthen regional trade in order to make the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) a reality.

According to Mr.Grant, the time is ripe for the continent to chart a new path in the African Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) story as well as liberalizing tari s in Africa would unleash billions of dollars in untapped export potential and with plans under way to remove market frictions that hinder intra-Africa trade, AfCFTA is on course to increase intra -African trade by 81% by 2035.

Speaking at the rst Annual Assembly of African Investment Promotion Agencies summit in Accra, he said “We the IPAs have decided to come together to go through what we believe should be the questions that we ask ourselves and to ensure we play a very critical role in ensuring that the AfCFTA becomes a reality.

For us in Africa, we think the opportunity is real, we think it is looming right in front of us and we need to take advantage, and to do that we need to facilitate intra-continental investment to bring about intra-continental trade, so notwithstanding the problems we have resolved, the world will go on and it will recover.

There is opportunity for us to add value to our raw materials and resources and leverage on the higher ends of the value chain.

I dare say our private sector is ready and what all they need is redirection into where the opportunities are and they will elevate themselves and be a credible partner to economic growth.”

A Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Herbert Krapa urged member countries to consider critically the incentives they give to investors, in order to ensure that they are smarter and would yield results in the long run.

He added ““We have taken some signi cant steps but now is the time to pay attention to investments that will ensure that AfCFTA thrives, we are fully ready, customs is a competent authority to provide the certi cate of origin and we have all of them, we want more of them to have the productive capacity to trade at scale so that they can take the bene ts of AfCFTA.”

Ghana is ready in terms of institutional support, factories and private sector production, what we are doing is we have set up a coordination o ce and we are providing them with the systems, to ensure that they are able to trade under the AfCFTA, what they are doing is collecting data to allow the ministry to go to cabinet to design a special package for AfCFTA trade -power, cost of credit, infrastructure, all of those issues government is paying close attention to, so we can take advantage of the duty free, quota free export opportunities that is available.

Emily Njeri Mburu-Ndoria, Director of Trade,AfCFTA indicated that the AfCFTA Secretariat would work closely work with the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies(WAIPA) and relevant stakeholders to put together an annual IPA network forum.

The Executive Director of WAIPA, Ismail Ersahin on his part stated that his organization is keen to support

Africa accounts for just 2.3% of global exports – with an export basket heavy on primary commodities and natural resources. While only 16% of the continent’s exports are destined for other African countries, much of this trade is in semi-processed and processed goods.

Strengthening regional trade is therefore crucial to support greater value addition, diversify supply chains, boost resilience to crises and to industrialize – ultimately contributing to job creation and better livelihoods on the continent.

The AfCFTA promises broader and deeper economic integration and would attract investment, boost trade, reduce poverty, and increase shared prosperity in Africa and at full operation: Africa could see FDI increase by between 111 percent and 159 percent under the AfCFTA.

Wages would rise by 11.2 percent for women and 9.8 percent for men by 2035, albeit with regional variations depending on the industries that expand the most in speci c countries.

Fifty million people could escape extreme poverty by 2035, and real income could rise by 9 percent. Under deep integration, Africa’s exports to the rest of the world would go up by 32 percent by 2035, and intra-African exports would grow by 109 percent, led by manufactured goods.