Dr. Amany Asfour, President of the African Business Council has identified minerals, agriculture and agro-processing as priority sectors where Africa risks remaining trapped at the lowest end of global value chains unless AfCFTA implementation accelerates.
On the AfCFTA Podcast she said, Africa exports shea butter worth about $90 million a year, while the global cosmetics industry that depends on the product is valued at more than $500 billion. Cocoa exports generate roughly $5.7 billion annually, compared with a global chocolate market exceeding $200 billion.
“These gaps show where Africa is positioned in global value chains,” Dr.Asfour said.
To narrow that divide, the Africa Business Council has rolled out trade missions and structured matchmaking programs across Nigeria, Zambia, Algeria and Kenya, backed by African financial institutions. The aim is to enable companies to identify credible partners, conduct counterparty validation and structure cross-border investments beyond government-led pilot initiatives.
Commercial activity is already beginning to take shape, particularly in healthcare. Dr.Asfour said private-sector agreements have been signed to develop cancer treatment centers in Zambia, alongside hospital projects linking Algerian developers with Egyptian medical equipment suppliers.
Despite the momentum, persistent tariff and non-tariff barriers continue to weigh on cross-border trade, she said. Dr.Asfour called for a formal reporting and escalation mechanism that would allow businesses to flag AfCFTA non-compliance directly to coordinating bodies and national authorities.
“Without reporting, nobody will be aware of where implementation is failing,” she said.
Awareness gaps remain a structural risk, especially among women traders and informal businesses operating at border posts across COMESA, ECOWAS and other regional blocs. Dr.Asfour said previous simplified trade regimes fell short largely because information failed to reach traders on the ground.
The Africa Business Council is working with the AfCFTA Secretariat’s private-sector engagement platform to scale outreach through national chambers of commerce, sector-based clusters and targeted programs for women and youth entrepreneurs.
Dr.Asfour said AfCFTA’s success will hinge on coordination, enforcement and the ability of African firms to translate policy frameworks into commercially viable outcomes.“Coming together is the most important mechanism for implementation,” she said.
