By Ndumbe Bell Joseph Gaston in Douala
One of Access Bank’s vision for Africa to promote integrated development goals through intra-African trade has been upheld by organising the very first Africa Trade Conference in Cape Town, South Africa recently.
The star-studded business encounter brought together industry leaders, policymakers and trade experts to share views and experiences to accelerate intra-African trade and unlock the continent’s economic potential.
The conference is said to have addressed critical stumbling blocks such as limited access to capital, market information gaps, trust deficit between trading partners and the urgent need for modernising trade infrastructures.
The Access Bank Group Managing Director and CEO, Roosevelt Ogbonna in his keynote address set the tone to break down critical barriers to trade in Africa, stressing the need for collaboration in the financial sector and foster a conducive business environment where African companies can grow and compete on a global scale.
“We need to invest in initiatives that ensure we can bring businesses together, build trust and establish the connections necessary for trade. In doing so, we must dispel the notion that Made in Africa is inferior, buy African and be proud to wear African and invest in Africa. The continent needs to propel itself,” the CEO remarked.
A glance at the exponential growth of Africa at an expected 2.5 billion by 2050 up from 1-2 billion today, indicates that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA or ZLECAF in French) is an initiative seen to be most significant than the creation of the World Trade Organisation, (WTO).
It is a unified market that has within it the industrialisation of Africa, competitiveness and a transformative opportunity.
This outlook was resonated by the Secretary-General of ZLECAF, H.E. Wankele K. Mene. “ZLECAF is not just that. It is an instrument for Africa’s industrialisation and economic sovereignty. It will enable us break down historic trade barriers and build self-sufficiency. It is to move forward ensuring that SMEs and Women-led initiatives have access to adequate information”, he said.
There were also country, regional, and global directors from Afreximbank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and many others who proposed commitments to promote trade finance solutions and infrastructures to unlock Africa’s trade potential.
The Africa Trade Conference serves as a dynamic platform where industry leaders, policy makers and stakeholders from across the ecosystem, meet.
CEO Roosevelt Ogbonna
