Maximise AfCFTA aims to create 3.8m jobs, lift 100m out of poverty
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Private sector players have been urged to maximise the opportunities provided by the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which aims to create 3.8 million manufacturing and power jobs alone and to end poverty for 100 million Africans.
Industry, Trade and Investment Minister Niyi Adebayo gave the counsel at the Lighting of the Africa Trade Torch organised by the African Business Council (ABC) in Cairo.
“I strongly believe that there can be no AfCFTA without the full participation of the private sector, as the key driver of economies within the continent and beyond. Thus, the private sector has the sole power to operationalise the agreement,” he said.
“The effects of AfCFTA on economic and social transformation depends on the degree to which the private sector can seize the opportunities the agreement provides, i.e., make African economies more competitive and enable development and elevation of regional value chains with a focus on SMEs.”
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Contribution of SMEs
Adebayo cited a report by PwC and said SMEs contribute about 48 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Nigeria where they account for about 96 per cent of businesses and 84 per cent of employment opportunities, The PUNCH reports.
“Another survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, [shows that] the Nigerian SME sector is strategically positioned to absorb up to 80 per cent of jobs, improve per capita income, increase value addition to raw material supply, improve export earnings and enhance capacity utilisation in certain key industries.
“Accordingly, I would like to call on the Nigerian private sector to fully key into the AfCFTA and also lend their support to the work that is being done by the African Business Council.”
He described the private sector as the engine of the African economy but pitched that “for the private sector to succeed, we need entrepreneurial states with governments that would assume regulatory, coordinating and catalytic roles.”
Interim Pan-African Manufacturers Association (PAMA) Chairman Mansur Ahmed reiterated the commitment of the body to promoting engagement in intra-African trade and cross-border value chains.
He applauded the contributions of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) which he said played a key role in the creation of PAMA.
“Since the inception of PAMA, MAN has taken the lead role in ensuring the ascent of the association to a continental platform, a feat that has not been easy,” he said.
Ahmed also restated the commitment of PAMA to serving as a launchpad for increased intra-African trade, a focal point of AfCFTA.
“The association aims to encourage cooperation between African manufacturers such that there can be market transformation in order to grow SMEs and subsequently create value chains to achieve Africa’s industrialisation agenda.”