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The COVID 19 pandemic exposed the risk in offshoring production of Africa’s basic needs. From vaccines and PPE to wheat and oil, the fundamental risk is the same: that Africa’s sustainability requires a new development approach that focuses on the Made in Africa Revolution.

The AfCFTA has the potential to transform the Continent, driving structural economic transformation through trade and investment to create resilient inclusive and sustainable growth and development in Africa.

With the AfCFTA now in its 2nd year of implementation, working towards expanded intra-regional trade and investment, especially in sectors that are emerging across value chains with great potential for industrialisation, value addition and green growth – is a policy imperative. Seizing these opportunities for SMEs, women and youth necessitates a concerted effort and alignment of public, private and regional and international partners to enhance existing capacities and capabilities to empower Africa’s exporters so that they can seize the benefits of the AfCFTA, and drive reforms paving the way for realisation of the continental market as a sustainable development accelerator.

The United Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) have come together to organize a side event at the margins of the Aid for Trade Global Review 2022 taking place in Geneva on 27-29 July 2022 to talk about the achievements and remaining building blocks necessary to translate the AfCFTA promises into reality for people and planet in Africa.

The event will provide a platform to influential leaders on trade in both public and private sector, youth and women business representatives - to talk about how Africa can create resilient development models under the AfCFTA dispensation - bearing in mind lessons from both the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic.