The Nelson Mandela School hosts dialogue on the Implementation of the AfCFTA

The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance hosted a roundtable dialogue on the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA), with a visiting Canadian government delegation, members of the AfCFTA Advisory Council, researchers from the School and a representative from Trade Law Centre. This roundtable happened during a visit by Canada’s Deputy Minister of International Development, Cindy Termorshuizen; the dialogue reflected on progress in implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area, the world’s largest free trade area by membership and explored opportunities to strengthen long-standing cooperation between Africa and Canada. The African Continental Free Trade Area brings together 55 African countries into a single market of approximately 1.3 billion people and stands as a flagship initiative of the African Union’s Agenda 2063., The roundtable discussion further acknowledged that the AfCFTA is also one of the most complex trade arrangements in the world, encompassing 33 least-developed countries, six small island states, and 16 landlocked nations.

A partnership built on trust
The conversation was opened by Emeritus Professor Faizel Ismail, convener of the AfCFTA Advisory Council, former Director at UCT’s Nelson Mandela School. Reflecting on the long-standing relationship with Canada, Professor Ismail recalled travelling there in 1994 as a young negotiator to learn the craft of trade diplomacy. He also highlighted the enduring role of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), which has since supported a range of collaborative projects involving University of Cape Town and its partners.

Industrialisation at the centre
With negotiations on the AfCFTA now nearing completion, attention has shifted to implementation. Professor Faizel Ismail emphasised that industrialisation lies at the heart of the agreement’s success. He noted that most member states remain largely dependent on commodity production and argued that the AfCFTA will only realise its full potential if countries are able to add value to their products and expand trade with one another across the continent.

To that end, the African Union summit in February mandated the AfCFTA to lead the development of a continental industrial policy. Prof Ismail pointed to early building blocks: a shared continental vision for the automotive sector and a cotton, textile and apparel value chain developed over two and a half years of consultation and recently launched at the Biashara Africa Business Forum in Togo on 19 May 2026.

Skills for women and youth
A second strand of the discussion focused on skills development. Dr Noncedo Vutula, Chief Research Officer at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, highlighted the role of technical and vocational education and training in bridging the gap between traditional education systems and the skills demanded by emerging industries. She pointed to sectors such as smart agriculture and textile production as key areas where targeted skills development can support industrial growth and economic transformation.

The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, working in partnership with a network of African universities across the continent, is helping to harmonise and modernise curricula aimed at developing Africa’s future leaders. The initiative seeks to ensure that programmes offered at the School with a focus on leadership, governance, and the technical skills needed to advance the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area are aligned with training provided elsewhere on the continent.

Leveraging Africa’s growing youth population, Dr Vutula emphasised the importance of expanding and replicating this model across the continent. The Nelson Mandela School could further benefit from increased scholarship support and stronger collaboration with employers to ensure that the skills taught through technical and vocational education programmes are closely aligned with labour market demands and the needs of emerging industries.

Making trade inclusive
John Stuart of Trade Law Centre discussed the Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade, adopted by the African Union Assembly in February 2024. He described it as the first trade agreement to explicitly incorporate affirmative-action principles aimed at supporting women and young people in trade.

Stuart highlighted the barriers faced most acutely by small-scale traders, including non-tariff barriers, limited access to trade finance, harassment at some border posts, widespread informality, and economic isolation. He also pointed to practical solutions already showing promise, many emerging from the Guided Trade Initiative, which concluded last year. These include consolidating goods from small producers into commercially viable shipments, establishing guarantee funds to help women overcome the “collateral trap”, and using blockchain-based systems that enable small farmers to verify the origin and quality of their produce.

He noted that digital technologies are steadily lowering the barriers to cross-border trade. Increasingly, Stuart said, traders require little more than a smartphone, internet connectivity, and access to digital payment systems to participate in regional markets.

Connecting the continent
Responding to a question from the Deputy Minister on infrastructure, speakers agreed that trade integration, regional value chains, and infrastructure development must progress hand in hand.

Dr Taffere Tesfachew, a member of the AfCFTA Advisory Council, observed that Africa’s trade infrastructure was historically designed to facilitate the export of commodities to external markets, rather than the movement of goods within the continent itself. As a result, intra-African trade remains relatively low — at around 16% — significantly below the levels recorded in Asia and Europe. He emphasised that the real challenge now lies in moving from a negotiating mindset to one focused on implementation, supported by targeted training for member states, the private sector, and the AfCFTA Secretariat.

Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu, also a member of the Advisory Council and the first coordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre, reflected on the origins of the AfCFTA, noting that the agreement was first conceptualised at the Centre. He further proposed the establishment of an AfCFTA Academy to strengthen officials’ understanding of the agreement and support effective implementation across the continent.

The critical minerals opportunity
Critical minerals emerged as a key area of discussion during the dialogue. Marit Kitaw of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) noted that Africa’s ambition has evolved beyond the export of raw minerals toward greater value addition, beneficiation, and local processing. She explained that this shift is being guided by the African Mining Vision and the recently adopted Africa Green Minerals Strategy.

The Canadian delegation highlighted a strong alignment between Canada’s expertise in mining and critical minerals and Africa’s beneficiation priorities. The delegates also expressed interest in supporting the development of future minerals-related protocols, similar to Canada’s support for the Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade.

Professor Faizel Ismail welcomed this interest, noting that the February summit had given the AfCFTA a mandate to lead the development of an African minerals value chain. He added that a Critical Minerals Working Group had recently been established to advance this agenda. Beneficiation, he argued, represents one of the continent’s most significant missed opportunities and one that is ideally suited to long-term partnership and collaboration.

Building on a track record
Closing the session, the deputy minister described it as hugely valuable and pointed to concrete follow-ups on critical minerals and on training and capacity building.

Professor Suki Goodman, Dean of the Faculty of Commerce, offered the final word, acknowledging the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)’s support and the trust built over years of collaboration. The work has been so good, Goodman said, that the university is deeply invested in sustaining the partnerships behind it.