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…As stakeholders push trade deal to replace AGOA
By Merit Ibe, [email protected]
Following the vast opportunities locked in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, has declared that the country needs to urgently diversify its export basket into higher-value processed and industrial products and to dramatically scale up services exports in order to enjoy a huge slice of the continent’s $3.4 trillion market.
This was the thrust of her message at the inaugural AfCFTA Public–Private–Press (P3) Summit held earlier this week in Abuja.
According to her, Nigeria’s success depends on strong collaboration among government, the private sector and the press, saying the shared goal is to build a “One African Market that is made, powered and led by Nigeria.”
She said the moment demands coordinated national action and a united push across government, business and the media to advance President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda.
According to her, the global economy had entered the year under heavy pressure from shifting geopolitical and trade dynamics, but Nigeria has nonetheless recorded rising industrial capacity, stronger diversification trends and expanding continental prospects. She said the AfCFTA remains central to sustaining this momentum, describing it as the largest free trade area in the world by number of participating countries, with a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion and a young, growing population of 1.4 billion people.
“Africa retains more value when she trades with herself,” she stated, adding that Nigeria is well-positioned to lead that process.
Dr. Oduwole reminded the audience that Nigeria has long driven regional integration efforts, citing major instruments conceived in the country, including the Lagos Plan of Action and the Abuja Treaty. She noted that the AfCFTA negotiations were concluded in Abuja in 2017, with Nigeria ratifying the agreement in 2020. The minister emphasised that 2025 has already shown decisive action, recalling that in January Nigeria hosted the AfCFTA Secretary-General to signal readiness, while in February the President was named Co-Champion of the AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade at the African Union Summit.
Her position comes as the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, recently called for the accelerated implementation of the AfCFTA as a strategic alternative to the expired African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Agoa is a United States law that provides eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to that market for more than 1 800 products.
The Act expired in September, and there remains uncertainty over its renewal. But amid the punitive tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, countries are considering measures to safeguard their trade markets.
At the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, Mene said the end of AGOA on September 30, 2025, presents Africa with an opportunity to deepen intra-African trade, reduce dependence on external markets and build resilient continental supply chains.
The intra-african trade dominated the discussions, with Mene insisting that the expiration of AGOA necessitates a shift focus toward building African supply chains and expanding internal markets as AfCFTA will drive deep economic transformation across Africa.
The AfCFTA boss told global leaders that Africa must now shift from reliance on trade preferences to self-sufficiency through a fully functional AfCFTA.
He encouraged United States private sector investment in the African market under the AfCFTA framework and emphasized the importance of intra-African trade momentum, digitalization, and payment systems for the continent’s economic transformation.
Trade diversification is at the heart of responses by African countries to global volatility and uncertainty. African countries are looking for ways to reduce their reliance on certain trade partners and build more ties with new ones as a risk management strategy.
Countries are increasingly facing the reality that they need to become more self-sufficient in an uncertain world.
On the sidelines of the G20 summit, various meetings projected that the expiration of Agoa should not be seen as a setback for African nations but as an opportunity to strengthen local industries, upskill workforces and expand regional trade.
Mene conveyed a sense of urgency in accelerating the AfCFTA’s implementation as a viable alternative to the US market.
This pivot is seen as crucial to minimizing Africa’s vulnerability to external market dependencies and fostering robust intra-continental supply chains.
He pointed out that collaboration was critical with continental financial institutions like the African Development Bank and other financing bodies to ensure that African markets are not only stable but also attractive to investors.
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While Mene acknowledged that transitioning to a self-sufficient economic model won’t be easy, he asserted that the recent developments signal a strong, unambiguous need for Africa to bolster its domestic market infrastructure.
Focusing on cross-border trade, a key theme of the summit, Mene discussed practical steps to accelerate inter-African trade, chiefly through the mobilization of G20 member capital to improve Africa’s trade-supporting infrastructure.
“Essential to this is the harmonization of customs systems, which is expected to streamline trade processes across the continent, reducing bureaucratic barriers and facilitating smoother economic exchanges.”
Also, high costs of capital in Africa were highlighted, with global leaders acknowledging the need for reform.
For Mene, the high cost of capital was a significant impediment to African economic development. He drew attention to the disparity in debt servicing costs faced by African nations compared to Western countries, despite having similar or even lower debt-to-GDP ratios.
“Encouragingly, countries like the UK, Canada, and Brazil have acknowledged this issue, signaling a growing international consensus on the need for reform.”
Mene noted the critical role of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) in reducing the cost of trade, expanding market access for MSMEs, advancing Africa’s long-standing ambition for sovereign payment infrastructure and facilitating transactions in local currencies, a core pillar of Africa’s digital future.
Mene highlighted that affordable, efficient payments are central to Africa’s integration.
“Africa’s innovation, technology and liquidity must drive the continent’s digital future.”
He reaffirmed the continent’s commitment to shaping its economic destiny through collaborative efforts and strategic investment in its vast potential.
Mene advocated for global G20 support for Africa’s trade and investment priorities, stressing that Africa’s economic renaissance lies in extensive trade and not aid or charity.
He participated in the African Private Sector Hearings (APSH) to ensure the private sector’s voice is heard in global platforms and to discuss the need for investment in infrastructure and expanded financing.
African leaders at the G20-related events called on the G20 to support the implementation of the AfCFTA and the continent’s development priorities as outlined in the AU Agenda 2063.
“AfCFTA is a major step toward Africa building its own “table” in global trade, rather than waiting for an invitation to others’. The goal is to accelerate the implementation of the agreement to build resilience against global shocks and reduce reliance on external preferential trade schemes.”
On her part, Rose Ngugi, a fellow in the African Economic Research Consortium, during a panel discussion, said African markets can leverage their skills to develop their markets and also strengthen intra-African trade through the AfCFTA.
“We have actually built skills in the textile market that were probably not there, and we need to secure them,” Ngugi said.
“I see the skills, for example, helping us to develop our textile market, and it may be high time we discussed the second-hand market for textiles, as there may be an opportunity to get on with building our textile market.”
The second opportunity lies in the AfCFTA.
“It is probably the right time to start talking about ‘buy in Africa, build in Africa’ for all the goods that were targeted for a poor market. Very little was coming into the continent or being flown across the countries. We can continue producing the same, but I think that we can now explore the market at the continental level.
“AfCFTA is all about zero tariffs, and one of the things that the African Union and the architect of AfCFTA may want to look at is how to take advantage of this effort that we have done so far, build the capabilities and keep them high for Africa again.”
