Short Abstract

This panel examines how AfCFTA implementation is shaping African economic development, focusing on trade, industrialisation, livelihoods, employment, inequality, value chains and the conditions required for inclusive and sustainable socio-economic transformation.

Long Abstract

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is one of Africa’s most ambitious projects for reshaping the continent’s economic geography and development trajectory. By seeking to expand intra-African trade, strengthen regional value chains and create a more integrated continental market, AfCFTA is expected to contribute to industrialisation, employment, investment and inclusive development. Yet these outcomes are not automatic: they depend on how the agreement is implemented across diverse national, regional and local contexts. This panel interrogates AfCFTA implementation as a development process rather than simply a matter of trade liberalisation or institutional compliance. It asks how the translation of continental commitments into national policies, border practices, markets and productive economies is shaping opportunities and constraints for African economies and populations. Particular attention is given to the uneven spatial and social effects of implementation, including differences in productive capacity, infrastructure, trade facilitation, regulatory environments and access to markets. The panel welcomes empirical and theoretical contributions on intra-African trade, industrialisation and regional value chains; agriculture and food systems; investment and infrastructure; small and informal enterprises; employment and livelihoods; non-tariff barriers and trade facilitation; digitalisation; gender and youth; inequality and territorial disparities; and AfCFTA-Regional Economic Community relations. The panel asks: Under what conditions can AfCFTA implementation translate market integration into structural transformation? Who gains from emerging continental markets, and who remains excluded? How can implementation generate more inclusive, spatially balanced and sustainable development? linking implementation politics to the outcome and furthering an African-centered approach to AfCFTA transformation panel.

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