Secretary-General of the Pan-African Manufacturers Association (PAMA), Segun Ajayi-Kadir, has provided insights into how Nigerian manufacturers can benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Since the inter-African trading agreement commenced over five years ago, Nigerian manufacturers and traders have struggled to tap into the array of opportunities in the single African market. Experts in the manufacturing sector note that AfCFTA has a huge potential market for an estimated 1.8 billion people across the continent, with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $3.4 trillion. Despite the agreement for the trading framework by African governments, progress has been extremely slow, with less than 15 percent achieved in the last five years.
Structured Approach to Market Access
Ajayi-Kadir, in an interview with The Guardian, stated that while the agreement provides the framework, real market access depends on compliance, strategy, and operational readiness. He pointed out that entering new markets requires more than production capacity; it demands preparation, market intelligence, and strategic positioning. He said: “A structured approach significantly improves success rates, particularly in a context where AfCFTA implementation remains progressive, selective, and uneven across countries and trade corridors. Although the AfCFTA framework is in force, trade under preferential terms is still being rolled out through phased instruments such as the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI), pilot corridors, and country-by-country readiness assessments. As a result, market access is not yet uniform across the continent.”
First Steps: Certificate of Origin and Rules of Origin
Based on what is already working for early movers, Ajayi-Kadir added that the pathway is practical and sequential. The first step, he said, is to secure an AfCFTA certificate of origin, which is the entry point. He regretted that tariff-free trade under AfCFTA is conditional, not automatic, stressing that to qualify, products must meet Rules of Origin requirements, typically involving 35 to 40 percent Regional Value Content (RVC) within AfCFTA member states. “On the factory floor, this means full localisation is not required; imported inputs can be used, provided sufficient value is added locally. Manufacturers must maintain detailed cost records covering labour, energy, materials, and overheads, and must obtain the AfCFTA Certificate of Origin from the relevant national authority,” he added.
Immediate Benefits for Early Adopters
For companies that get this right, Ajayi-Kadir said the impact is immediate. According to him, early adopters reported savings of between 15 and 25 percent on import duties, directly improving margins and competitiveness. He noted that although 54 countries from the continent have signed the agreement, implementation remains uneven. He expressed that market entry should therefore be targeted, not continental from the beginning. “Priority markets with relatively advanced implementation include Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and Cameroon. These countries have more established customs systems, clearer AfCFTA procedures, and active trade flows. Verified preferential exports have already exceeded $65 million between 2024 and mid-2025, with manufactured goods leading. A strategic approach would be to start with one or two markets, refine the compliance and logistics model, then scale regionally,” he said.
Overcoming Non-Tariff Barriers
While tariffs are declining, Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs), including delays, inspections, and regulatory inconsistencies, remain the biggest obstacle and can, in practice, exceed the cost of tariffs themselves. Common responses from successful companies include appointing dedicated trade or customs compliance officers, using digital single-window systems where available, and engaging with the AfCFTA NTB reporting platform. “Critically, compliance is not optional. Each country maintains its own requirements for product standards and certification, labelling and packaging, and health, safety, and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures. Until harmonisation is fully achieved, manufacturers must treat standards compliance as a core business function, not a regulatory afterthought,” Ajayi-Kadir added.
Aligning with Regional Value Chains
Urging alignment with regional value chains, not just market access, he said AfCFTA is designed to support industrialisation, not simply increase trade volumes. The emphasis, he stressed, is on moving up the value chain, from raw materials to processed and manufactured goods. This creates strategic positioning opportunities: companies that process locally become integral to regional industrial policy, and cross-border production partnerships can count toward local content calculations. The cotton-textile example makes this stark. Africa produces approximately six percent of the world's cotton but captures less than two percent of global textile value, a disparity that underscores the immense untapped potential for value addition within the continent.
Structured Checklist for Market Readiness
He opined that manufacturers entering new markets should work through a structured checklist: confirm Rules of Origin compliance, understand country-specific standards and import procedures, secure necessary certifications before shipment, choose the right entry model (direct exports, distributors, joint ventures, or regional hubs), build efficient logistics corridors and warehousing capacity, and set pricing that reflects logistics costs, foreign exchange risks, and local purchasing power, among others. He insisted that each of these elements must be in place before a manufacturer can claim to be genuinely market-ready.
