The Chief Govt Officer of Compass World, Mrs. Tokunbo Chiedu has asserted {that a} collaboration between West and East African sub-regions may contribute enhance intra-Africa commerce.
Mrs. Chiedu who can also be the Convener of the West Africa Meets East Africa Initiative, stated a strategic plan should be formulated and holistically carried out to streamline buying and selling actions between the 2 sub-regions.
She was talking throughout a latest market go to to Ghana and Pre-Mission Activation/African Continental Free Commerce Space (AfCFTA) Capability Constructing Workshop.
The Workshop was themed ‘Unlocking the AfCFTA Alternative for Girls &Youths: Leveraging Regional Worth Chain Alternatives and Enterprise Linkages to Improve Intra-Africa Commerce.’
It gave a platform to stakeholders to realize a deeper understanding of how you can capitalize on the African free commerce continental settlement, specializing in negotiation methods and deal-making. It was preceded by market visits to indigenous Ghanaian factories.
Beneath the auspices of the organized personal sector, the West Africa Meets East Africa Initiative was launched in 2022 with the assist of AFREXIM Financial institution, the ECOWAS Fee, and a bunch of strategic companions, together with the UN Financial Fee for Africa – West Africa Workplace.
It goals to strategically place Africa’s ecosystem of small-medium enterprises, ladies and youth entrepreneurs, and organizations to leverage the AfCFTA and promote regional integration.
Mrs. Chiedu highlighted that the advance of intra-Africa commerce necessitates a purposeful drive in the direction of success, with particular consideration given to nations participating in substantial volumes of intra-African commerce.
She lamented the continual decline in intra-African commerce, indicating that the 2022 Afreximbank report, revealed that intra-African commerce stays low, constituting roughly 16% of the continent’s whole commerce quantity.
She added that intra-African commerce falls considerably beneath the degrees of intra-continental commerce in Asia (59%) and Europe (68%).
“The 2 areas of West Africa and East Africa mutually profit from one another because of the complementary nature of their choices. Collaboration and the formation of strategic partnerships that may translate into commerce develop into extra possible. Thus, the convergence of West Africa and East Africa is centered on leveraging regional worth propositions, with a give attention to the worth chains inside these areas”, she stated.
Mrs. Chiedu defined that Ghana may leverage the shea butter trade and enhance export commerce if trade gamers acquired the required assist to increase manufacturing capability and finance export trades to satisfy calls for from internationally.
“To handle this problem, we advocate for the agregating clustering convergence of our two areas. Whereas we’re additionally participating with different areas, the pilot initiative of West meets East Africa is geared toward showcasing the regional worth propositions of West Africa and facilitating reciprocal commerce preparations.
“SMEs, together with ladies and youth entrepreneurs, are inspired to convene on the negotiating desk and facilitate mutually useful transactions”, she stated.
She cited the case research of a deal valued at $500,000 secured for Sesame Seeds and Shea Seeds which emerged from the commerce mission to Kenya in 2023, hoping future missions would result in the sealing of comparable offers.
Mrs. Chiedu introduced that there could be a subsequent mission to Kenya in November, following the inaugural launch within the nation final yr. She stated that the workforce would give attention to activating and working the deal room established in 2023.
She outlined that pre-mission coaching has been added to the workshop to assist equip individuals with the required experience for commerce missions.
“Notably, we secured a deal valued at half 1,000,000 {dollars} for Sesame Seeds and Shea Seeds. This underscores the dedication of this course of in the direction of figuring out the demand for West African merchandise or sources in different areas,” she revealed.
The President of the Africa Girls Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP), Consolation Adjahoe–Jennings, emphasised that the workshops and excursions have been designed to eradicate the tradition of individualism amongst ladies in enterprise in Africa, fostering collaborative relationships amongst stakeholders throughout numerous areas.
“Our main focus lies in cultivating partnerships with varied ladies’s organizations to satisfy the rising demand for our merchandise and empower future generations. Our purpose is to revolutionize the present panorama by addressing the challenges ladies encounter and dismantling the obstacles hindering their collaboration”, she stated.
She underscored the group’s staunch stance in opposition to the export of uncooked supplies, emphasizing the necessity to add worth to the uncooked supplies on the African continent earlier than exporting them to create endless job alternatives for our youth and improve financial enlargement.
“Inside our respective chapters, we arrange ourselves into clusters based mostly on trade specialization, resembling meals, cosmetics, and craft companies. This categorization facilitates collaborative problem-solving and capacity-building initiatives tailor-made to the precise necessities of every group”, Madam Adjahoe–Jennings concluded.
The AfCFTA was launched in 2012, stands as a pivotal initiative inside Agenda 2063, Africa’s Improvement Framework, with a main goal to expedite intra-African commerce and promote Africa’s international buying and selling place by making a united African entrance and coverage framework in international commerce negotiations.