The Portuguese-speaking countries, currently slower in implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, are investing in necessary reforms to reap long-term benefits. For these nations, the AfCFTA represents not only trade liberalization but a strategic path toward economic resilience, intra-African connectivity, and sustainable diversification, according to analyst Jervin Naidoo.
While countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda leverage the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI), most Portuguese-speaking African nations are still laying the foundation, facing infrastructural, institutional, and export diversification challenges, the economist stated.
In Angola, progress is gradual and hindered by logistical inefficiencies, bureaucratic obstacles, and persistent non-tariff barriers. However, Luanda sees the agreement as an opportunity to integrate into continental value chains, especially in agriculture, light industry, and transport services, while attracting investment and reducing oil revenue dependency, he noted.
Angola ratified the agreement at the end of 2020 and views it as “a cornerstone for economic diversification,” with the strategic use of the AfCFTA potentially enhancing Angola’s role in Southern Africa’s trade corridors.
In Cape Verde, involvement with the AfCFTA is “cautious and gradual,” despite the government’s support for the agreement’s terms.
The government sees the agreement as a potential catalyst for attracting foreign investment and expanding continental trade in services and niche goods, but high transportation costs and limited export capacity have delayed implementation, the analyst pointed out, noting that São Tomé and Príncipe faces challenges related to insularity and “high transportation costs.”
In Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea, political instability and logistical and bureaucratic restrictions, respectively, are significant hurdles.
Mozambique, on the other hand, has made “more visible progress in preparing for the AfCFTA, aligning the agreement with regional integration efforts under the Southern African Development Community (SADC),” said Jervin Naidoo.
“Maputo views the AfCFTA as a mechanism to diversify exports beyond natural gas and aluminum, but insecurity in Cabo Delgado, fragile infrastructure, and complex customs procedures impede rapid implementation,” he added.
Naidoo highlighted that “the engagement of the Lusophone Africa with the AfCFTA showcases the uneven pace of continental integration,” and that pioneering countries demonstrate how coordinated structures, good logistical preparation, and effective regulatory alignment translate into viable trade.
The economist from Oxford Economics analyzed following the first official export through the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI), a pilot program for trading under AfCFTA mechanisms.
These exports are “a clear example of how early participants are beginning to operationalize the agreement,” said Jervin Naidoo.
In November, Ethiopia exported meat, fruit, and other agricultural products to Kenya, Somalia, and South Africa, marking the first practical example of free trade on the continent since the journey began towards a common market aimed at evolving into the free movement of people and services, along with goods, over the long term.
The African free trade agreement is a continental integration project impacting over 1.4 billion people and mobilizing an economic potential of 3.4 trillion dollars (2.9 trillion euros) in Africa. Approved by the African Union in 2019, the treaty includes 49 countries that have ratified it, aiming for a substantial reduction or elimination of customs tariffs on regional trade.
