ABSTRACT
The signing and ratification of the Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area and the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on 1 January 2021 represent significant milestones towards realising African integration. They also provide a strong basis for progress towards achieving socio-economic transformation on the African continent. The AfCFTA could help create regional and global value chains for African countries. Such expectations are informed by studies that show that the AfCFTA will boost intra-African trade in agricultural and food products as well as in manufactures, where trade is already diversified. Hence, benefits and opportunities exist for Africa due to the AfCFTA, especially in terms of agriculture, manufacturing and services as well as the e-commerce sector. A lot of opportunities to diversify and industrialise economies on the continent exist if the AfCFTA is properly harnessed. The political economy of the AfCFTA consists of domestic and external competing interests, political will and the parlous economic position of its member states. This chapter introduces this volume by laying out the basis of the discussion in the book.
