Time to chart a new path in African FDIs - GIPC boss

AfCFTA.” tion o ce and is providing them with the systems to ensure that the country is able to trade under the AfCFTA.

Emily Njeri Mburu-Ndoria, Director of Trade at AfCFTA Secretariat, indicated that the 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 IPAs attract not just any investments, but sustainable investments.

What the o ce is 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 at- vantage of the duty free, quota free export opportunities that is available.

He added that the country is fully ready, and customs is a competent authority to provide the certi cate of origin, saying “we have all of them and we want more of them to have the productive capacity to trade at scale so that they can take the bene ts of

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 resil- ience 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 de pending on the industries that expand the most in spe ci 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.