What Does Africa Stand to Gain from the African Continental Free Trade Area?

There is a notion that Africa has been getting the “short end of the stick†when it comes to bilateral trade agreements with the rest of the world. With the newly formed African Continental Free Trade Area - AfCFTA - that aims to enhance Africa’s trade links with the rest of the world, the question remains whether this initiative will benefit the African countries. The paper uses theories of international trade, regional integration and economic growth to recommend how the AfCFTA can succeed for the benefit of the African continent. The paper analyses the current trade situation within Africa and compares it with the continents’ trade with the rest of the world using mixed methods research design. The study uses secondary data from Trade Map from 2017-2021 and compares the performance of selected trading blocs on the continent. Qualitative data were collected through Delphi techniques with experts from across the African continent. Data on individual trading blocs suggests that despite the continent’s trade deficit position, some regional blocs have a trade surplus. The study identifies challenges facing Africa’s trade, proposes solutions to improve intra-regional trade and gives policy directions to guide the successful implementation of the AfCFTA.