AfCFTA Coordination Office, GEPA, MOTI storm East African Market

About sixty-five (65) Ghanaian Small and Medium Enterprises have been led to penetrate the East African Market, particularly the Kenyan market, through the coordination efforts of Ghana’s National AfCFTA Coordination Office (NCO), in collaboration with Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Ghana EXIM Bank and Ghana Free Zones Authority et al., with the support of the Ministry of Trade and

Industry (MoTI), the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ghana and Kenya have been one of the trail blazers in the implementation of the AfCFTA as a continental trading policy. The two countries were the first to ratify the AfCFTA Agreement.

In August 2022 both countries launched their National AfCFTA Policy Framework and Action Plan to outline their respective interventions geared towards the harmonization of existing national laws, programmes, policies, and regulations to boost trade within Africa under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

It is in line with this determination to ensure that traders particularly Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) take advantage of the single African Market that has been created by Africa to trade that Ghana organized its trade expedition under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in Nairobi Kenya to create the opportunity for the first seventy beneficiary SMEs the opportunity to trade under the AfCFTA.

The market entry expedition which was held from the 23rd to 27th of May, 2023, facilitated the entry of Ghanaian businesses into East African markets through the Kenyan Capital, Nairobi, witnessed some eighty (80) exhibitors from Ghana representing, sixty-three (63) Ghanaian companies and enterprises selected from different sectors, including agro-processing, beverages, cosmetics, rubber and plastics, ceramics, cocoa processing, garments, textiles, real estate and IT services, crafts, leather, and pharmaceuticals.

The Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry responsible for International Trade Hon. Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei who led the Ghanaian delegation on behalf of the Minister for Trade and Industry, Hon. K.T Hammond, said taking such a major step to ensure the implementation of the AfCFTA was long overdue.

“For us, it is a joy to be able to facilitate the entry of more than 60 Ghanaian businesses into Africa; see Kenyans interested in the products that are manufactured in Ghana and most importantly; see our Ghanaian businesses find route to market opportunities in East Africa.”

The deputy Minister further added, “Ghana intends to aggressively go after the AfCFTA Agreement, and prepare our manufacturers to ensure that their product and packaging qualify for international shelves and are able to harness the benefits the Agreement brings”

Dr. Fareed Arthur, Ghana’s National AfCFTA Coordinator explained that Kenya is a vibrant economy in East Africa and Ghanaian business must look to take advantage of it. “We in West Africa see Kenya as an excellent entry point into the Eastern African market. We cannot trade amongst ourselves without great partners, and Kenya has proven to be a very welcoming partner for us.”

He however hinted that the Kenyan market will not be the only African Market that Ghanaian businesses will be facilitated to trade in, as efforts would be made to also tap into the potential of other vibrant regional markets on the continent.

“We are looking to receive Kenya in Ghana and Ghana is looking to expand to other countries. Over the next year, our ambition is to go to at least all five regions in Africa. We have started in the East; we are looking to going into the North, South, Central and Western African regions. If we make entries into these regions, we believe that we would have set the ball rolling for increasing Ghana’s trade with Africa.”

Ghana’s Export Promotion Authority seized the opportunity created by the expedition to launch the Ghana Export Trade House in Nairobi to promote the sale of Ghanaian good within the East African Sub Region. The establishment of the Ghana Trade House by GEPA makes it the first ever to be established by an African Country in a different country outside its Economic Region.

Mr. Samuel Dentu, Deputy CEO, GEPA described the action a success of the AfCFTA: “The AfCFTA gave us the opportunity to actualize the Ghana Trade House Concept and the fact that we have been able to launch and open one in Kenya on the sidelines of the Ghana Expo is a great achievement that the country can be proud of.”

Mr. Alfred Ombudo K’OMBUDO, Kenyan Principal Secretary for Trade lauded Ghana’s initiative of the Trade Expedition and actions by both Ghana and Kenya to implement the AfCFTA.

“It has always been a priority for us to look at how we can break down barriers to trade within Africa and I am happy that Ghana and Kenya have taken various steps to implement the AfCFTA Agreement.”

The State Agencies and the participating businesses were full of gratitude for the Ministry of Finance/World Bank’s Ghana Economic Transformation Project (GETP), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and ECOBANK Kenya and other institutions, which sponsored and supported the successful organization of the expedition.