The African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, would create the desired impetus to stimulate the economic growth of Nigeria in 2021.
This disclosure was made by Mr. Bismarck Rewane, Chief Executive of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, in his presentation at the Lagos Business School recently, entitled “2020: A year to remember or forget”
According to him…
- “The year 2021 may hold brighter economic omens for Nigeria than the outgoing one.
- “Among the specific engines expected to stimulate growth in the incoming year is the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA. A vehicle designed to help boost continental trade integration through a policy that promotes the relatively unhindered flow of goods and services across the 55-members of the African Union, the scheme provides for a tariff-free regime that would cover 90 percent of all traded goods and services, and would expectedly become practically operational from January 1 2021.
- “The year will start off difficult and challenged and the first vaccines to help mitigate the lingering COVID-19 challenge will likely be delivered to Nigeria in Q2.”
Why this matters
- The implementation of AfCFTA in January 2021 is a big hope for Nigeria, as Africa achieves a massive 55-country trade bloc.
- The AfCFTA has the potential to be a game-changer for Nigeria and other member countries in Africa, as it will unite over 1.3 billion people, create about $3.4 trillion economic bloc and boost trade within the continent itself.
