Making African continental integration sustainable: digital trade and the role of the AfCFTA

Abstract

Although the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) was signed in 2018, moving towards faster operationalization took five years. The agreement, boasting 54 signatories, is one of the world's most extensive free trade agreements and encompasses over a billion people. It aims to establish a unified market, bringing life to the long-standing dream of continental integration. In pursuit of this vision, the African Union's (AU) theme for 2023 was "Acceleration of African Continental Free Trade Agreement Implementation."