In Libreville, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat came under direct questioning from Gabonese business leaders as officials sought to explain how the agreement can translate into practical trading opportunities across Africa’s emerging single market.
The exchange took place at the Palais des Congrès during a public-private dialogue opened by Gabon’s Minister of Trade, SMEs and Youth Entrepreneurship, Zenaba Gninga Channing, who framed the AfCFTA as a structural shift for the country’s economy away from raw production toward higher-value industries including agro-processing, timber transformation, construction materials, logistics and green enterprises.
The meeting brought together private sector operators, government officials and AfCFTA technical experts in a session that quickly moved beyond policy presentation into operational constraints affecting cross-border trade.
Officials from the AfCFTA Secretariat outlined the core instruments of the agreement, including rules of origin frameworks, the AfCFTA e-Tariff Book, the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) and adjustment fund mechanisms designed to support member states during implementation.
They also pointed to persistent barriers raised by businesses, including access to finance, logistics bottlenecks, competitiveness gaps and limited familiarity with trade compliance requirements, particularly rules of origin documentation needed to qualify for preferential access under the agreement.
The session underscored the growing pressure on AfCFTA officials to demonstrate how the framework works in practice, with entrepreneurs pressing for clarity on payment systems, export readiness and the ability to scale operations beyond domestic markets.
AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene said the agreement represents a strategic option for African economies in a shifting global trade environment, positioning the continental market as a source of economic resilience and reduced dependence on external trade systems.
He added that the agreement contains built-in safeguards, including infant industry protections, competition policy tools and trade defence measures against dumping, which are to be activated by member states through national institutions rather than imposed externally.
For Gabonese businesses, the discussions highlighted both opportunity and constraint, access to a continental market of 1.4 billion consumers on one hand, and structural barriers that continue to limit the ability of firms to compete regionally on the other.
The dialogue also placed emphasis on youth participation, with officials stressing that the AfCFTA is intended to expand economic opportunities for a new generation of entrepreneurs able to operate across African borders.
