S2 | Ep3 "The countdown to the AfCFTA has commenced" with H.E Wamkele Mene, SG AfCFTA

<p><strong>About the AfCFTA</strong></p> <ul> <li>The Africa Continental Free Trade Area | AfCFTA is not simply just a free trade agreement, even though it's the 2d largest trade area in the world - but it definitively is a vehicle for Africa’s economic transformation, and the agreement is made up of 54 African countries merging into a single market of 1.3 billion people.</li> <li>This resource, with the merit of enhancing sustainable markets, could create an economic bloc with a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion</li> <li>Once in place, intra-African trade is expected to grow by 33% and Africa’s total trade deficit is expected to be cut in half</li> <li>In addition, the AfCFTA could generate combined consumer and business spending of $6.7 trillion by 2030, according to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation</li> <li>It’s an investment tool that could be considered one of Africa’s greatest assets in the economic recovery of the continent, per each country</li> <li>Through its various protocols, it would facilitate the movement of persons and labor, competition, investment and intellectual property</li> <li>An African Union summit to finalize tariff concessions in May has been postponed to December 2020, further delaying the AfCFTA’s start date</li> <li>The potential of the AfCFTA is to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty.</li> </ul> <p><strong>The Countdown has begun</strong></p> <ul> <li>The AfCFTA secretariat recently announced that the new effective date will be 1 January 2021.</li> <li>PABWA launches a countdown campaign today in honour of the new 'GO LIVE' date.</li> <li>We caught up with the SG of the AfCFTA for a quick update on their new home at AfRICA Trade House and also a general sense of where things are at the moment.&nbsp;</li> <li>We'll bring you regular updates as part of this countdown campaign.</li> </ul> <p><br></p> --- Support this podcast: <a href="https://anchor.fm/fromafricatotheworld/support" rel="payment">https://anchor.fm/fromafricatotheworld/support</a>