African Development Fund Approves $11 Million Grant to the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat

he Board of Directors of the African Development Fund approved an $11.02 million support package to the Permanent Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to help it enhance effective implementation. The AfCFTA Secretariat opened its doors in Accra on 17 August 2020, with initial support of $5 million to set up the secretariat, the programs, and the tools and to raise stakeholder awareness.  

The world’s second-largest free trade area has a potential market of 1.2 billion consumers, but Africa has the world’s lowest level of intraregional trade at less than 18%, compared with 22%, 50% and 70% for Latin America, Asia, and Europe respectively. The AfCTFA aims to increase this by up to $35 billion per year (25%) over a decade, lower annual imports by $10 billion, and boost agriculture and industrial exports by up to $45 billion (7%) and $21 billion (5%) respectively.