Why the AfCFTA Matters More in 2025 Than Ever Before

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) stands as the flagship project of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, a visionary blueprint for driving inclusive and sustainable development across the continent over the next five decades. The AfCFTA aims to significantly enhance intra-African trade by establishing a comprehensive and mutually beneficial trade agreement among member states.

This ambitious agreement encompasses trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property rights, and competition policy.

Since its official launch on May 30, 2019, the AfCFTA Agreement came into effect for the 24 countries that had deposited their ratification instruments with the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson – the designated depositary.

The AfCFTA Secretariat, tasked with overseeing the implementation of the agreement, is based in Ghana. Wamkele Mene was appointed as the first Secretary-General on March 19, 2020, and he is currently serving his second term.

The Secretariat was formally handed over in Accra, Ghana, on August 17, 2020.

Trading under the AfCFTA officially began on January 1, 2021.

As of January 2025, progress is steadily advancing: 92.3 percent of tariff lines have agreed upon Rules of Origin, and the Pan-African Payments and Settlements System (PAPSS) is now operational.

A milestone in AfCFTA’s evolution was marked on October 7, 2022, with the launch of the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) in Accra. This initiative enabled eight participating countries – Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Tunisia – to begin commercially meaningful trade under the Agreement.

These countries represent Africa’s five regions and serve as a testing ground for the operational, institutional, legal, and trade policy environments under the AfCFTA framework.

In 2024, the scope of the GTI expanded to include a broader range of products and an additional 37 state parties from across the continent, including island-nations, reinforcing AfCFTA’s pan-African reach.

As of May 2025, 48 out of 54 signatories (88.9 percent) have deposited their ratification instruments with the AUC Chairperson, signaling growing commitment across the continent.

Towards the Africa We Want

The AfCFTA is steadily realizing its vision of a more integrated and prosperous Africa. With each step forward, it brings the continent closer to the Africa we aspire to see – one that is more interconnected, resilient, and competitive on the global stage.

Here’s to continued progress in 2025 and beyond.