AfCFTA – Ethel Cofie's Blog

The Real AfCFTA Gap Isn’t Trade. It’s Trust.

Posted on December 5, 2025December 5, 2025 by ethelcofie

AfCFTA Needs a Data Rail: Why African SMEs Need a Data Passport AfCFTA’s big promise is simple: an African business

AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol Has Being Adopted:Now What ?

Posted on August 26, 2024January 9, 2025 by ethelcofie

Following protracted negotiations, and industry consultations, the 37th African Union (“AU”) Heads of States Summit held on 17 – 18 February 2024, adopted the much anticipated AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade (“AfCFTA Digital Protocol”).

An Examination of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement: Has the Promise Been Fulfilled or Is It a Bust?

Posted on July 18, 2023July 18, 2023 by ethelcofie

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a monumental agreement, was designed with the aspiration of establishing the world’s largest free trade area. This ambitious initiative was intended to bring together 1.3 billion people across 55 countries, creating a combined GDP of US$3.4 trillion. The vision of AfCFTA was painted as a future where seamless trade across the continent would be a reality. The dream was that purchasing professional work clothes from Rwanda or a book from Nigeria would be as simple as a few clicks, without the burden of exorbitant shipping costs. However, the question that arises is whether this promise has been fulfilled or if the AfCFTA is a bust.

Pan-African Payments and Settlement System- The basics, what you need to know

Posted on October 4, 2021October 4, 2021 by ethelcofie

for AfCFTA to be effective, the cost of money transfers across the continent must be lowered. The African Union supported by the African Export Import Bank- AfriExim ,(Bank was established in Abuja, Nigeria in October, 1993 by African Governments, African private and institutional investors as well as non-African financial institutions and private investors for the purpose of financing, promoting and expanding intra-African and extra-African trade.) The bank has collaborated on the development of a Pan-African Payments and Settlement System -PAPSS a centralized payment system that will provide the infrastructure for intra Africa trade.