Ghana will begin reviewing its National African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Policy Framework and Action Plan early next year to align it with new protocols introduced under the continental trade agreement, Acting National AfCFTA Coordinator, Mr. Benjamin Asiam, has announced.
The policy document, first developed in August 2022, serves as a strategic roadmap to increase Ghana’s share of intra-African trade by creating a stable and predictable environment that supports private sector growth.
Mr. Asiam said the revision had become necessary following the introduction of eight additional protocols beyond the original protocol on trade in goods.
“It is imperative that we review the document to take on board the other protocols,” he said during the national dialogue on the AfCFTA Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade.
The protocol was adopted by the Committee on Trade in February 2023 and approved by the African Union Assembly in February 2024.
The dialogue was organised by the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Mr. Asiam stressed the central role of women and youth within Ghana’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector, noting that their full participation was essential to realising the benefits of AfCFTA.
“We need to remove the constraints they face so they can be effective. If we can take away these constraints, the economy will do well,” he said.
He also called for strengthening national systems for collecting and using sex- and age-disaggregated trade data to ensure that policy interventions are well targeted.
“We must build a robust national trade data system to enable evidence-based monitoring of how women and youth are engaging with AfCFTA markets,” he added.
In a speech read on her behalf, the Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Madam Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, said Ghana welcomed the protocol and remained committed to advancing a structured and inclusive roadmap for its implementation.
She emphasised that broad stakeholder collaboration was crucial to ensuring that the country maximised the gains of the trade agreement.
UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Niloy Banerjee, said the organisation viewed AfCFTA as a pathway to inclusive development and had taken steps to prepare Ghanaian businesses to compete under the agreement.
He outlined key initiatives, including building MSME export readiness, supporting Ghanaian firms to participate in major trade fairs across Africa, and investing in research on non-tariff barriers, digital platforms, and regulatory systems to improve the business environment.
