Africa has significant potential to boost trade, especially in services, as its young population is plugged into the digital world, opening avenues for creatives and the entrepreneurially minded to supply goods and services globally.
The African continent saw world leading commercial services export growth in recent years, with exports (excluding tourism) surging by 13%.
However, the region has experienced dire challenges with the spread of the COVID-19 across Sub-Saharan African countries precisely when the economic and trade conditions across the continent were booming.
This session explores the impact of Covid-19 on trade policies and trade performance across Africa, and offers practical suggestions on ways forward in the changed global trade ecosystem.
Key questions:
- What has been the impact of Covid-19 African trade, and what steps have African governments taken?
- Is the pandemic’s disruption likely to be a medium to long-term feature of the policy landscape?
- How the pandemic has affected the implementation and development of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement?
- Has there been an noticeably different impact on women working in African trade exposed sectors?
- Where should African policymakers be looking in order to help the continent best utilize trade to navigate past this crisis?
In the second portion of this session, the audience will be encouraged to participate in a moderated discussion around these questions:
- Moving forward what must African governments prioritize for trade integration to be successful in the continent?
- How could the large heterogeneity across African countries and their intrinsic challenges be overcome?
Continue the conversation in the dedicated chat on the Beyond Trade Network.
This session will be simultaneously translated into French, Spanish and English (when needed) via the Interactio application, by entering the code GTW2020 (please use headphones). Open the application in your Web browser or download it for iOS Mobile App or for Android App.