Africa’s regional integration efforts have accelerated under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a pact spanning 54 nations aiming to unify a $3.4 trillion market. Since its 2021 launch, tariffs on 90% of goods have been scrapped, lifting intra-African trade from a historic low of 15% of total exports.
Initiatives like the Guided Trade Initiative now enable commerce between Ghana, Rwanda, and Kenya, signaling early wins. Yet non-tariff barriers—cumbersome customs checks, opaque regulations, and poor logistics—still inflate costs. The African Development Bank (AfDB) warns such hurdles could negate gains unless addressed.
Cross-border projects like the $3.9 billion Tanzania-Burundi-DRC railway and Zambia’s Kazungula Bridge exemplify efforts to bridge Africa’s connectivity chasm. Energy initiatives, including the West Africa Power Pool, aim to boost electricity access for 600 million people lacking reliable power. Despite progress, the AfDB estimates a $68–108 billion annual funding shortfall for roads, ports, and grids. Poor infrastructure remains a bottleneck: transport delays add 30–40% to goods’ costs in landlocked nations, stifling trade potential.
The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), operational since 2022, slashes reliance on the U.S. dollar for intra-African deals, saving $5 billion yearly in transaction costs. Stock exchanges in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa now link via the African Exchanges Linkage Project, deepening capital markets. But currency volatility and disjointed regulations persist. Only 20% of African trade uses local currencies, and divergent monetary policies hinder cross-border investment.
While regional blocs like ECOWAS and SADC drive harmonization, policy misalignment lingers. Rules of origin under AfCFTA remain inconsistently applied, confusing exporters. Corruption at border posts and slow digitization of customs processes further delay shipments. The AfDB notes that 70% of African SMEs struggle to access regional markets due to regulatory complexity.
The AfDB urges faster removal of non-tariff barriers, expanded public-private infrastructure partnerships, and tighter monetary coordination. Fully implementing AfCFTA could boost intra-African trade by 52% by 2035, per UN estimates. For Africa’s integration vision to crystallize, bridging the gap between policy and execution will be decisive—a test of governance as much as economics.
