In line with the decision of African leaders, the AfCFTA Secretariat is doing the preparatory work towards the negotiations and development of the AfCFTA Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade. The Protocol is expected to address the specific constraints and barriers women face when trading on the continent. The Protocol will enable AfCFTA State Parties to effectively address constraints women in trade face and create an environment that allows women to utilize the AfCFTA by accessing wider markets, improving their competitiveness and participating in regional value chains.

The Secretariat has further designed interventions in these value-chains with the potential to add over US$11bn p.a. in production and over US$5bn p.a. in intra-Africa trade – more than double the current contribution of these value-chains to intra-Africa trade. This increase in production and trade could create over 700 000 jobs. These interventions include establishing pan-African standards for the trade of meat and fish, optimizing importation of used vehicles while scaling up automotive production, running a Pan-African campaign to encourage consumers to buy “Made-in-Africa” products, and creating a digital platform to access AfCFTA benefits (e.g., consumer loans for locally made cars).