Addis Ababa:Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations (ECCSA) is intensifying efforts to enhance national readiness for regional economic engagement under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
According to Ethiopian News Agency, ECCSA Secretary General Kenenisa Lemi emphasized that AfCFTA is a transformative economic integration initiative that facilitates the expansion of intra-African trade. Ethiopia, a participant in the AfCFTA market since last year, has been trading with countries like South Africa, Kenya, and Somalia, and is working to expand trade with other African nations.
ECCSA is collaborating with government bodies, private organizations, and other stakeholders to provide specialized training for Ethiopian companies. This training aims to improve their competitiveness in quality, branding, and pricing within the AfCFTA market. The Secretary General highlighted the importance of enhancing market understanding and business competitiveness to maximize AfCFTA opportunities.
Strengthening technology use, human resource utilization, and innovation activities are essential, according to Kenenisa. He also mentioned the need to improve customer management and enhance marketing and communication efforts. ECCSA is coordinating with government and non-governmental organizations to support these preparations, while companies are encouraged to invest in employee capacity building in marketing, communication, and digital literacy.
Kenenisa noted Africa's significant economic potential with a population of over 1.4 billion and an economy valued at over 3.5 trillion USD. Despite this, intra-African trade comprises less than 18 percent of the continent's total trade volume, indicating a vast potential for growth. The AfCFTA framework, which began gaining momentum in 2021, is seen as a means to strengthen intra-African economic ties and enable nations to leverage their markets and resources better.
Ethiopia has actively engaged with this emerging market by launching exports under the AfCFTA framework. Kenenisa concluded that AfCFTA offers Ethiopia a crucial platform to enhance its integration into wider African and international trading systems, challenging the nation to prepare its private sector for success.
