The Executive Director of Geneva based International Trade Center (ITC), Pamela Coke-Hamilton, has pledged the center’s support for the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The African Continental Free Trade Area has come as the largest market in the world, with an estimated market of about three trillion dollars.
This continent-wide pack has promised to remove various trade barriers to improve trade among African countries, and for this reason, all sectors of the economy are ramping up efforts to take advantage of it.
Describing the AfCFTA as a game changer, Pamela Coke-Hamilton outlined to host of the Citi Breakfast Show, Bernard Avle some measures taken by the International Trade Center to support the agreement.
“The AfCFTA is one of the most critical game changers in the world of trade right now. If 54 countries in Africa are able to pull together and have a single, seamless economic market space, can you imagine the transformational power that that will give Africa?”
“We are actually supposed to sign an MOU with the AfCFTA Secretariat this coming week. We are working on value chain analysis that looks at what the potential areas for growth are exactly in Africa. We’ve also been working on helping through GEPA the Ghanaian SMEs how to export under the AfCFTA.”
ITC is a joint agency of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Trade Organization for trade and international business development.
Officials of the Center are in Ghana to participate in the World Trade Organization Conference hosted in Ghana by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA).
Chief Executive Officer of GEPA, Dr. Afua Asabea Asare, also on the Citi Breakfast Show urged Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the country to take advantage of the conference to grow their business.
‘I want the SMEs to come together and register their business. Even if you’re developing an idea, now we have what it takes to support them. We have our impact hub to support them develop their idea. They should take advantage of it.’
