Photo Courtesy of Business Daily
African countries should accelerate policy and legislative reforms aimed at fostering cross-border trade in manufactured goods and services. Currently, intra-African trade stands at 14 percent, but plans are underway to grow it to 52 percent by 2035, injecting an additional 450 billion U.S. dollars into the continent’s economies, said Ahmed Farah, the chief executive officer of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI). Africa’s business and political leaders are united in their call for conducive policies to spur intra-African trade on valueadded agricultural products, manufactured goods and tourism, said Erick Rutto, KNCCI president. According to Rutto, Africa’s share of global trade stands at 3 percent but has potential for growth through streamlined customs regulations, value addition and policy alignment.