Africa’s private sector will descend upon Cape Town, South Africa to participate in the
2023 African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Business Forum – the first one to be held in- person. Convened by the AfCFTA Secretariat under the patronage of His Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa, The President of the Republic of South Africa, the conference is scheduled to take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) from 16 – 18 April 2023.
The key objectives of the event are to create awareness of the current trade and investment opportunities in AfCFTA among Africa’s business community; connect businesses to funding opportunities for AfCFTA value chains; establish a private sector engagement platform for continued consultations on private sector needs in the implementation of the AfCFTA; and to promote a private sector-friendly environment, especially for Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) led by Women and Youth, to unlock more accessible and affordable trade finance opportunities.
In this context, the event primarily aims to attract broad participation of Africa’s private sector, strategic investors, financial institutions, investment promotion agencies, business councils, chambers of commerce, multinational corporations, African women and youth business organisations, as well as Heads of States and Government, and AfCFTA Partners.
The AfCFTA Secretary-General His Excellency Wamkele Mene has called on Africa’s business community to partner the Secretariat in order to ensure a successful implementation of the Agreement.
He said “creating an integrated One African Market hinges upon effective private sector participation in the implementation of the AfCFTA. It is therefore critical that Africa’s private sector, as one of the key drivers, takes a keen and active interest, supports and fully participates in AfCFTA’s programmes”. “The idea is that we come together to find solutions aimed at boosting intra-Africa trade, creating opportunities, innovation and of course taking advantage of this expanded market under the AfCFTA.
“It is only with the business community’s full involvement that we will achieve our goal of enhancing intra-African trade, raise Africa’s trading position on the global market, and accelerate economic growth, industrialization, production, and job creation”, added Mene.
The AfCFTA Business Forum is aimed at giving momentum and accelerating the implementation of the AfCFTA. In the short space of time since coming into existence, the AfCFTA has recorded some notable achievements including completion of Phase I of the AfCFTA and components of Phase II covering Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, the Dispute Settlement Mechanism, Investments, Competition Policy, and Intellectual Property Rights, provide countless trade and investment opportunities for the private sector to capitalize on. The Digital Trade protocol, which is expected to be concluded in July 2023, shall establish the appropriate regulatory framework for new market opportunities in the digital economy. The protocol on Women and Youth in Trade, which is also expected to be concluded in July 2023 is an important instrument for achieving inclusive benefits in the AfCFTA market.
While the conference will cover various pertinent trade issues, it will put a spotlight on the following sectors: agro-processing; automotive; pharmaceuticals; transportation and logistics; and digital trade and payments.
The forum takes place after the guided trade initiative, where countries have already started trading under the AfCFTA which makes this the ideal time to take advantage of the opportunity to promote business and investment in Africa.

The logistics power arm, Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics (ESL), embarks on key consultations with potential customers following the arrival of the first reefer containers. Potential buyers signal readiness to tap into the potential business which is convenient for fresh commodity export.
About a week ago, the refrigerated boxes that were manufactured in China and transported by the Jigjiga vessel finally made their way to ESL’s home port in Djibouti.
According to Demissew Benti, Corporate Communication Head at ESL, the state logistics enterprise has assigned a certified entity to inspect the containers at the Port before beginning of logistic activities to the center.
“Our inspection team has been assigned to conduct quality assurance on products for a defect check before they are loaded for shipment. The latest inspection is also common prior to transporting from Djibouti to Ethiopia,” Demissew said.
He added that since it is the first time for ESL to possess such kind of special containers, staffs are also going to be exposed in areas of handling capability and in terms of storage, use of electricity and general management.
“Trainings will be provided for ESL staffs that will facilitate the seamless workflow of the containers on the system,” the Corporate Communication Head told Capital.
He added that ESL will carry out discussions with fruit and vegetable associations, and stakeholders who are looking forward to start using the containers.
“We decided to buy these containers not because it is profitable but because we want to ease the logistics crunch observed in the area,” Demissew explained.
“Based on that we have also targeted other logistics companies to use them on a lease basis,” he said, adding, “To realize this, we are under discussion with logistics companies to use the containers.”
As per ESL projections, the containers will be in use in the coming couple of weeks.
According to the plan, at the current stage the major hub will be at Mojo Dry port but in the future ESL will have centers at potential production areas.
“It is a must and we will also have temporary reefer terminals in different locations,” Demissew pointed out.
So far ESL has established a cold chain at its Mojo Dry Port facility and the procurement of reefer containers has included all the required equipment to operate the cold containers.The generators are said to be the equipment that will be fixed on vessels to support the cooling process on the voyage of reefer containers to their destinations.
Roba Megersa, former CEO of ESL, who left the docket late last March, recently told Capital that ESL has already facilitated two hectares of a dedicated terminal at Mojo for reefer cargo handling and power plug-in service.
In total, the latest procurement consumed USD 976,500 or USD 32,550 per container that includes accessories.
Regarding the arrival of the first 30 forty feet MGSS reefer containers and mounted generators, the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA) has expressed its much delightfulness.
Tewodros Zewdie, Executive Director of EHPEA, said that for the past several years his association has been advocating for the use of reefer containers to boost the horticulture sector particularly for the fruit export.
He said that the coming of the stated amount of containers that Ethiopia owned for the first time has created enthusiasm in the horticulture industry, “It is an inception that shows that the sector will expand regarding sea based logistics.”
“We believe that it is one step forward and symbolic for the expectation of the future,” Tewodros told Capital by adding that more similar containers are entailed to fetch the required benefit from the sector export.
“Through our platform we have become updated and the status and sector actors are interested to work with us. Foreign players are also showing their intentions to be involved in the sector,” the Executive Director said, adding, “Those who were reluctant to enter in the country’s investment opportunities because of the logistics challenge are also now showing their interest.”
The move that is taking by the logistics operator is also stated as a big hope since potential perishable commodity buyers are expressing their desire to order from here. These cargo boxes will now support the bulk mobility of the perishable industry, and experts in the sector speculate that the country’s fruit industry will boom at higher trajectories.
“In the past, potential customers had ordered hundreds of containers but there weren’t ample boxes in the containers. Now this is a major challenge that will enable us to tap the benefit that producers and sellers should have,” the association head recalled.
He said that now supermarket chains are also exploring.
“In the coming weeks we will discuss with logistics actors and will identify details like rates and other required information to embark the use of reefer containers,” he added.
He underlined that the sector needs more containers to see meaningful change on the business, “We expect thousands of containers to be included on the mobility.”
Experts show the case that in 2022 Kenya shipped 5,000 reefer containers when it comes to Ethiopia it is only about 15.
According to Demissew, ESL is also on the pipeline to include additional about 20 reefer containers in its route in the near future.

• IMF projects Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy to grow by 3.6% in 2023 and 4.2% in 2024.
• Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, and Kenya are forecast to lead the pack of major performers with growth rates of 8.3%, 6.2%, and 5.3% respectively, in 2023.
• Six low-income African countries, including Ethiopia and Tanzania, are projected to post stronger growth rates above 5% in 2023 and 2024.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that the economy of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will grow by 3.6 per cent in 2023 and accelerate to 4.2 per cent in 2024. According to the World Economic Outlook report released on Tuesday, the growth in the region will be slower in 2023 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis, but will recover the following year.
The IMF report reveals that emerging markets and developing economies are expected to have stronger economic prospects than advanced economies, but this varies widely across regions. Five oil-exporting countries in the SSA, namely Nigeria, Angola, Gabon, Chad, and Equatorial Guinea, are projected to register a combined growth rate of 3.2 per cent in 2023 and 3.0 per cent in 2024.
However, Equatorial Guinea is the only country among the five whose economy is expected to contract by 1.8 per cent in 2023 and 8.2 per cent in 2024. In contrast, Senegal is projected to register the highest growth in the SSA, with 8.3 per cent in 2023 and a double-digit growth of 10.6 per cent in 2024. Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is expected to post growth rates of 3.2 per cent and 3.0 per cent in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
South Africa, one of Africa’s most industrialized economies, is expected to grow by 0.1 per cent in 2023 and 1.8 per cent in 2024. Among low-income African countries, Ethiopia, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Burkina Faso, and Mali are projected to post stronger growth rates above 5 per cent in 2023 and 2024. Meanwhile, among middle-income countries, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, and Kenya are forecast to lead the pack of major performers with growth rates of 8.3 per cent, 6.2 per cent, and 5.3 per cent respectively, in 2023.
The IMF report cautions that while GDP is expected to grow by 5.1 per cent on average in low-income developing countries over 2023-2024, projected per capita income growth averages only 2.8 per cent during the same period, which is below the average for middle-income economies (3.2 per cent). This falls below the path needed for standards of living to converge with those in middle-income economies, the report says.
The IMF also warns that many economies are still absorbing the shocks of the Ukraine crisis and the outbreak of COVID-19, while the recent tightening in global financial conditions is hampering recovery. As a result, many economies will likely experience slower income growth in 2023 amid rising joblessness. The IMF report states that “over the medium term, the prospects for growth now seem dimmer than in decades.”