The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at accelerating investment and the development of integrated regional value chains across Africa’s automotive industry.
The agreement, signed on the sidelines of the inaugural Africa Automotive Investment Forum in El Alamein, Egypt, creates a framework for cooperation on automotive policy, trade rules, investment mobilisation and supplier development under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene and AAAM President Tarek Mosaad signed the agreement during the forum, which was convened alongside the Alamein Africa Business Forum.
The partnership is expected to support implementation of the AfCFTA Strategy for the African Automotive Sector, including work on automotive Rules of Origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, policies and standards, and capacity building.
A key focus will be developing suppliers and strengthening automotive value chains across African markets, potentially allowing production to be distributed across countries rather than concentrated within individual national markets.
The agreement also covers mineral beneficiation and investment mobilisation, linking Africa’s automotive ambitions with efforts to capture more value from the continent’s mineral resources.
Emerging automotive technologies are also included in the cooperation framework as the industry undergoes changes in vehicle technology and manufacturing.
The two organisations will support the development and implementation of the AfCFTA Automotive Investment Plan being advanced by the AfCFTA Secretariat and African Export-Import Bank.
The plan is intended to help identify investment opportunities and strengthen integrated automotive value chains across the continent.
For African manufacturers, the development of regional supply networks could provide a route to scale by combining production capabilities and market access across countries under the continental trade agreement.
The agreement comes as public- and private-sector stakeholders gather in El Alamein to examine how AfCFTA market access can translate into investment, industrial partnerships and stronger regional production networks.
The partnership places sustained public-private collaboration at the centre of efforts to turn Africa’s automotive ambitions into a larger manufacturing base, with investment, supplier development, trade facilitation and industrial capacity forming the foundation for regional production.
