Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe, Zimpapers Business Hub
AFRICA is strategically positioned to enhance intra-regional trade and drive economic diversification by capitalizing on the evolving landscape of global trade, particularly amid ongoing trade wars.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) emphasizes this potential through the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement and other established regional frameworks.
In its 2025 African Economic Outlook (AEO) report, unveiled during the Bank’s Annual Meetings in Abidjan this week, the AfDB highlighted that while escalating trade wars reveal the risks associated with overreliance on foreign trade and global value chains, they also offer a significant opportunity for African economies to strengthen their resilience and collaboration.
“To mitigate the impact, African countries should diversify their export markets — redirecting trade towards intraregional markets within Africa, and to other potential trade partners in Asia, Canada, Latin America, the Middle
East, the European Union, and other European countries,” said the Bank.
“The growing trade wars provide an incentive for African countries to fully implement the AfCFTA Agreement and operationalise other longstanding agreements to eliminate regional trade and non-trade barriers and accelerate economic diversification.”
The continental lender urged African governments to reconfigure their trade strategies and external relations in favour of deeper regional integration.
“They need to deepen economic diplomacy and implement protocols on the free movement of goods and people within the continent,” the report reads in part.
“This will require effective policy coordination among countries to accelerate the benefits of trade with nonregional partners while mitigating the risk of dumping, a scenario where Africa becomes a market for large volumes of imports diverted from other countries.”
The AfCFTA, a flagship initiative under the African Union’s Agenda 2063, encompasses a market of approximately 1,3 billion people with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about US$3,4 trillion.
It was operationalised in January 2021 to streamline customs procedures, reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks, and harmonising technical standards to facilitate the smooth movement of goods across African borders.
Zimbabwe is among the signatories to the AfCFTA, which seeks to eliminate tariffs on 90 percent of goods traded among member states over a 10-year period.
The agreement aims to increase intra-African trade by 53 percent by 2025, potentially creating up to 30 million jobs and lifting 30 million people out of poverty.
derick.khumalo