This support, which comes under the Ministry of Trade and Industry's Facilitation Programme, will enable Ghanaian companies and businesses exporting under the AfCFTA to fully participate in the single continental market.

The Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Herbert Krapa, who announced this at a media training programme for some selected media practitioners on Monday, January 31, 2022, at Peduase in the Eastern Region, said the support forms part of the Ministry's action plan towards boosting Ghana’s intra-African trade.

He said the Ministry of Trade and Industry "is implementing a 10-Point Industrial Transformation Agenda to build productive capacity for both domestic and export markets"

Opportunities

Mr Krapa said the implementation of AfCFTA would help to address the challenges of small fragmented markets, adds value to Africa's abundant natural resources, provides a boost in intra - Africa trade and ultimately, promotes economic diversification and industrialisation.

For him, AfCFTA would provide more jobs for Africa’s very young population, knowledge and skills transfer to the continent, and all put together, an improvement in a sustaining way, of the standard of living of its people.

He called on the media to collaborate with the government in deepening knowledge on AfCFTA, saying "Government and the media, must collaborate strongly for an effective actualisation of this most important objective."

Training

The media training, organised by the Ministry of Information and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with Ministry of Trade and the AfCFTA Secretariat, was aimed at equipping the media practitioners with the needed skills and information on AfCFTA so as to enable them to educate the public and also engage businesses on AfCFTA.

AfCFTA

AfCFTA has the potential to contribute to SDGs attainment in Africa, with the World Bank projecting that the AfCFTA agreement will create the largest free trade area in the world measured by the number of countries participating in it.

The pact connects about 1.2 billion people across 55 countries with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) valued at $3.4 trillion.

It has the potential to lift 100 million out of poverty, 30 million people from extreme poverty, and 70 million people from moderate poverty.

UNDP's support

The UNDP Resident Representative in Ghana, Dr Angela Lusigi, said "AfCFTA represents a once in a lifetime opportunity to transform Africa’s economic landscape and shared prosperity through trade."

She said UNDP was working closely with both the Government of Ghana and the AFCTA Secretariat to facilitate implementation and leverage the agreement to accelerate SDGs attainment on the African Continent.

"UNDP is committed to ensuring that the AfCFTA implementation is localised, and the benefits accrue to all, particularly women and youth," she noted, adding "In partnership with the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), we are working to mainstream the AfCFTA in local plans, budgets, and financing frameworks."

Dr Lusigi, noted that UNDP and its partners were supporting initiatives to track the impact of COVID-19 on MSMEs and accelerate their recovery, saying "Our focus is on ensuring that women and youth-led businesses – who are often left behind - are positioned to thrive under the AfCFTA."

For her, AfCFTA serves as a catalyst for inclusive structural transformation in Ghana and Africa as a whole.

Commitment

Touching on the media training, Dr Lusigi said "This training is an important first step in closing the AfCFTA knowledge gap."

She explained that the purpose of the training was to "improve the understanding on the AfCFTA agreement and create a vibrant network of practitioners."

She further stressed that "We will also provide up to date content to help you engage Ghanaian businesses and the public in order to leverage the agreement to expand access to continental markets, regional value chains, create jobs, and advance Ghana’s industrialisation agenda."

"We believe that the AfCFTA has the potential to contribute to a green, inclusive, and resilient COVID-19 recovery across Africa and help put the continent back on track of the SDGs.

Dr Angela Lusigi gave an assurance that UNDP would continue to work to ensure that “AfCFTA work for all in Ghana and across the Region."