Pan-African Aspirations Drive a New Free Trade Pact

Abstract

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, which will soon take effect, is not a new idea but a step ahead in a historic project that springs from the aspirations of past and present leaders to unite Africa. This project has faced many obstacles; at times it has been derailed. Its would-be implementers overlooked elements crucial to making it materialize. They should no longer ignore the logic of bottom up integration and people at the grassroots, such as cross-border traders, who put this logic into action and contribute to African unity.

Keywords: African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, Trade, Regional interation, informal cross-border trade, migration