Free trade hailed as key to Africa's growth

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]lot of power sits in our hands. So, what I mean by that is governments need to come together.

[00:00:05]The Africa Continental Free Trade Area has been in effect since 2021.

[00:00:10]Um there has been some good progress made, but there's still various protocols that needs to be harmonized.

[00:00:16]Um but traction has been gained and we should we've seen just from a South African perspective um and it's small numbers, but about a billion rands worth of trade going through specifically related to Africa. But again, you can see the impact of that across the continent and and what that platform really really means.

[00:00:35]It also links to beneficiation and we think about trading trading with ourselves, but it also means that from a South African perspective, you know, we've got strong in industry in industrial and services capabilities and and this can become a hub for a regional value chain. And we see that just from a South African perspective um early preference already with trade with Ghana, with Kenya, with Egypt. And as tariffs fall and digital payments um interconnect better, you know, South African manufacturers can access new customer markets while our fintechs and e-commerce platforms can expand continent-wide. So, really leveraging our infrastructure and financial markets, we we which can help finance and and build regional supply networks.

[00:01:21]Mhm. Well, the South