From Policy to Practice: Challenges and Ways Forward on the Implementation of the AfCFTA

This contributed volume takes a country-driven assessment of efforts to implement the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). AfCFTA is, arguably, the most prominent attempt to galvanize the continent into political and economic integration in its history. The AfCFTA promises to be the largest free trade area in the world based on the number of participating countries, and forecasts of its impact demonstrate that AfCFTA is potentially the most powerful instrument to significantly alter the socio-politico and economic status of Africa as a whole and place the continent on the power map of the world. In spite of this laudable and promising opportunity for African growth, the implementation of the AfCFTA has been slow as of this book’s writing. It is important to undertake a comprehensive review of the implementation of the AfCFTA, in order to appraise the prevailing teething problems experienced across selected countries. Although the AfCFTA remains a continental initiative, the speed, political will, and achievements of the implementation process is largely country-driven. The country-specific review of the implementation processes of the AfCFTA presented in this book highlights context-specific dynamics, identifying best practices, understanding implementation challenges, tailoring support mechanisms, and facilitating peer learning amongst implementing countries. The book assembles international trade research experts principally from research chairs from across the continent to analyses country-specific experiences, challenges, and successes of the implementation of the AfCFTA. The book is written by seasoned African researchers/academics, primarily from foremost universities of the respective countries under consideration, for the benefit of Africa.