The second phase of the capacity-building programme for women of the cassava sector under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is underway in Mbangassina, a village in the Centre Region of Cameroon.

This programme was launched by the Cameroon National Shippers' Council (CNSC), a technical partner of the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts (MINPMEESA). The CNSC kicked off the programme's second phase on 23 September, with capacity-building sessions attended by about fifty women at the Mbangassina village hall.

Key activities during the sessions included some presentations and hands-on training on selected farms.  On the first day, the Head of CNSC's Export Assistance Service, Mrs. Armelle Belibi Makasso, delivered a presentation on "Women in the AfCFTA". Her presentation was quickly followed by that of Mr. Junior Sone Makoge, Assistant Service Head for Import Assistance, who outlined export procedures under the AfCFTA regime.

These training workshops, scheduled to run through to 28 September 2024, mark the first of four stages that make up the project's second phase to boost the production and processing capacities of female entrepreneurs in the cassava sector within the AfCFTA.

• The commissioning and operationalization of the AfCFTA Secretariat building in Ghana;
• Launch of trade under AfCFTA;
• 46 States Parties in June 2023, following the 45th and 46th deposit of instruments of ratification by Botswana and Comoros in February 2023;
• Launch of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) in collaboration with the African import-export bank (Afreximbank);
• Signing of the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund management agreement with Afreximbank;
• Launch of the new AfCFTA website: https://au-afcfta.org ;
• Launch of the electronic tariff book on the official AfCFTA website;
• Launch of the AfCFTA Rules of Origin Manual;
• Signing of an 11 million USD grant agreement with the African Development Bank;
• First face-to-face AfCFTA Business Forum to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 16 to 18 April 2023.

• January 2012- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Adoption of the decision to "accelerate the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area AfCFTA with a view to boosting intra-African trade" during the 18th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government.

• June 2015- Johannesburg, South Africa

Launch of negotiations for the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) at the 25th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government.

• March 2018- Kigali, Rwanda

Signing of the Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area at the 10th Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government by 44 of the 55 member states of the African Union.

• 30 May 2019- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Entry into force of the AfCFTA Agreement, following the 22nd deposit of an instrument of ratification by the Saharawi Republic on 29 April 2019.

• July 2019- Niamey, Niger

Launch of the operational phase of the AfCFTA during the 12th Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government.

• 10 February 2020- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Election of H.E. Wamkele Mene as the first Secretary General of the AfCFTA, during the 33rd Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government.

• 19 March 2020- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Swearing in of H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of AfCFTA at the headquarters of the African Union.

• 17 August 2020- Accra, Ghana

Reception and commissioning of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat building.

• 1 January 2021- Johannesburg, South Africa

Launch of trade under AfCFTA at the 13th AU Extraordinary Session on AfCFTA.

• 07 October 2022- Accra, Ghana

Launch of the Guided Trade Initiative which is a mechanism designed to significantly promote trade under the AfCFTA.

The AfCFTA operates through 8 instruments:

• The rules of origin;
• The Virtual Negotiating Forum;
• The monitoring and elimination of non-tariff barriers (www.tradebarriers.africa ) ;
• A digital payment system;
• The African Trade Observatory;
• The AfCFTA Adjustment Fund;
• IATF;
• The AfCFTA Automotive Fund.

• Category A: 90% for products to be liberalised (elimination of customs duties over 10 years for Least Developed Countries (LDC) and 5 years for the others);
• Category B: 7% for sensitive products (elimination of customs duties over 13 years for LDCs and 10 years for others);
• Category C: 3% for products excluded from liberalisation.

• For trade in goods

1. Progressive liberalisation of 90% of tariff lines.
2. Harmonisation of customs regulations;
3. Facilitation of transit operations;
4. Equal treatment for domestic products and products originating from other AfCFTA States.

• For trade in Services

1. Progressive liberalisation of 5 priority sectors: Tourism, financial services, business services, telecommunications and transport;
2. Mutual recognition of standards, licences and certifications for service providers;
3. Equal treatment of service providers.

• Investment Protocol: adopted but awaiting ratification;
• Protocol on intellectual property: adopted but awaiting ratification;
• Protocol on fair competition policy: adopted but awaiting ratification;
• Protocol on digital trade: adopted but awaiting ratification;
• Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade: adopted but awaiting ratification.

A - Phase I

• Liberalisation and harmonisation of trade in goods in Africa;
• Liberalisation of trade in services;
• Promotion of trade by women and young people.

B - Phase II

• Investment cooperation;
• Securing intellectual property;
• Cooperation on fair competition policy;
• Development and harmonisation of digital trade;
• Dispute Settlement System.

C - The Agreement itself (30 articles)

D - The Protocol on Trade in Goods and its 9 annexes

• Annex 1 on tariff concessions;
• Annex 2 on rules of origin;
• Annex 3 on customs cooperation;
• Annex 4 on trade facilitation;
• Annex 5 on non-tariff barriers;
• Annex 6 on sanitary and phytosanitary measures;
• Annex 7 on transit;
• Annex 8 on Technical Barriers to Trade; and
• Annex 9 on Dispute Settlement.

E - The Protocol on Trade in Services and its annexes

F - The Protocol on Dispute Settlement and its annexes.

• Create a single market for goods, services, facilitated by the movement of persons in order to further the economic integration of the African continent and in accordance with the Pan African vision of “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa”, as enshrined in Agenda 2063;
• Create a liberalised market for goods and services through successive rounds of negotiations;
• Contribute to the movement of capital and natural resources, and facilitate investments building on the initiatives and developments being undertaken by the State Parties and Regional Economic Communities (RECs);
• Lay the foundation for the establishment of a Continental Customs Union at a later stage;
• Promote and attain sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development, gender equality and structural transformation of State Parties;
• Enhance the competitiveness of the economies of State Parties within the continent and the global market;
• Promote industrial development through diversification and regional value chain development, agricultural development and food security;
• Resolve the challenges of multiple and overlapping memberships, as well as expedite the regional and continental integration processes.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was officially launched on 7 July 2019 at the 12th Extraordinary Summit of the African Union (AU) in Niamey. As at April 2023, 54 of the AU's 55 member States had signed the AfCFTA Agreement, and 46 members had ratified it by the same date.