00:11Welcome to this edition of Business Africa. I'm your host Afolake Oyloui. The top stories
00:16this week. Africa's $7 trillion trade ambition faces a reality check as small businesses remain
00:23locked out of EFCFT's promised opportunities. Togo bets on homegrown computer industry to build
00:32digital sovereignty and develop local technology skills. Egypt's garbage city recyclers see demand
00:40surge as Iran will disrupt plastic imports, forcing factories to turn to recycled materials
00:46amid soaring shipping costs.
00:51Nearly a decade after Africa launched its most ambitious economic integration project,
00:56the promise of a single continental market remains largely invisible to the small businesses
01:02it was meant to transform, raising fresh questions about whether the EFCFT can bridge the widening
01:08gap between policy, ambition and economic reality. Nearly 10 years ago, Africa sought to create a
01:16single African market spanning 54 countries, 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion.
01:27Under the African continental free trade area, the goal is clear, build a $7 trillion continental
01:34economy by 2035. Recent data, however, shows that nearly 75% of Africa's small businesses report
01:44feeling zero everyday impact from the trade zone, exposing a massive gap between policy design and
01:51real-world execution. That's worsened by a tightening global crunch. International aid is shrinking
01:59permanently, moving global trade into a transactional investment-first landscape. Meanwhile, local merchants
02:07remain highly vulnerable, trapped by single commodity dependents and the steep cost of entering green
02:14supply chains. Moving past the era of mere paperwork requires an urgent pivot to localized value addition,
02:22digitizing systems and matching financial capital with real execution capacity as the continent aims to
02:30finally turn its high-level blueprint into a practical, raw reality.
02:37To discuss this further, we're joined by Pamela Cooke-Amilton, the Executive Director of the International Trade Centre.
02:44Welcome to the show. You recently noted that 75% of African small businesses say that the EFCFT has had
02:51lead you to no impact on them yet. Now, with the protocols being in place, what is the biggest barrier
02:57holding them back?
03:00The truth is, if 75% don't know, it means we're doing something wrong. And therefore, what we also need
03:07to
03:07do is to look at the mechanisms that we have been using to communicate, what are the specific benefits?
03:13How are these benefits going to impact you? How can you take advantage of these benefits? We have done a
03:20publication with the Afroxim Bank and the AFCFTA Secretary on how to export under the AFCFTA. But the truth is,
03:29we don't even need to go that far, because one of the main issues with the AFCFTA is
03:34intra-continental trade. So it's not even so much about exporting elsewhere. It's also about how do you take advantage
03:42of the regional processes and regional opening and regional value chains to be able to grow your business or do
03:49bigger exporting or increase your capacity to get investment. In the digital context, I think what is even more important
03:57is how much have governments really undertaken the necessity to
04:03transform their digital regulatory systems, to enable fintech, to enable digital engagement, to enable people to, you know, be able
04:14to trade online, to exercise their digital mobility.
04:19And Botswana, you've warned that the single commodity reliance exposes nations to global shocks. How can the AFCFTA help drive
04:27diversification against the next global hits?
04:30So for us, it is taking advantage of these and building out these value chains in the context of the
04:38AFCFTA, leveraging the opportunities of lowering the tariffs, because lowering the tariffs and the barriers between countries can significantly enhance
04:50their ability to source cheaper inputs, work on a value chain across, say, West Africa or East Africa, create higher
04:58value
04:59value added production and therefore export value added processes as opposed to the continued export of commodity instead of value
05:09added. The commodity dependence continues to be a challenge. And unfortunately, there's a direct correlation between lack of value addition
05:18or commodity dependence and being one of the least developed countries.
05:22And so the need to move from this commodity dependence is critical.
05:28The ITC is connecting local farmers to premium value chains through green certifications. Now, how can MSMEs use this better
05:35to their advantage?
05:37What we found is that companies that actually adapt alternative energy processes for their production have lower production costs, increased
05:48efficiency.
05:48Yes, it can be a regulatory burden. Yes, it can be a regulatory burden. There's no doubt. And I won't
05:53deny that. But I think it also presents a very real opportunity for many of our countries and our companies
06:01to pivot in light of the fact that it's climate change isn't going away.
06:06If we don't adjust now, if we don't adjust now, we will have to adjust later at some point. What
06:12they need is access to finance. What they need is technical assistance. What they need is the ability to meet
06:20these requirements and the help from banks, their governments, international institutions like ourselves, who provide this kind of practical assistance
06:30to enable them to meet these new requirements.
06:33But the meeting of the new requirements should not in and of itself be a barrier. So there are many,
06:39many opportunities here. We just have to take the right approach and ensure that it translates.
06:45Thank you very much for your time.
06:52In Togo, a local company has begun assembling computers using imported components as part of a broader effort to establish
07:00a domestic IT manufacturing industry.
07:03Beyond production, the initiative aims to train local engineers and create skilled jobs.
07:10In Lome, Matrix industry is backing a new model, building a local assembly line to meet Togo's IT needs instead
07:18of relying on imported finished products.
07:20With the capacity to assemble nearly 2,000 computers a day, the company aims to develop a domestic IT industry.
07:29Instead of simply carrying on buying and paying, China offers a better alternative.
07:34First, you come, you receive training, then you go back home and build your own industry.
07:39Our ambition is to establish a genuine industry that can provide Africans and the people of Togo with the tools
07:45they need every day, while helping to build lasting local industrial capacity.
07:53Beyond production, the next challenge is skills, planning engineers capable of mastering the entire assembly process.
08:00The next step from Matrix industry is to turn assembly into a fully-fledged industry.
08:05The global digital economy offers a major business opportunity.
08:09According to UNCTAD, information and communication technologies account for more than 12% of global merchandise trade.
08:16For Africa, developing local capabilities will help retain more value.
08:20It is a huge opportunity for Togo because it helps create high-quality jobs while also strengthening the country's digital
08:28sovereignty.
08:30More Togoli's companies are now beginning to adopt locally assembled computers.
08:35With Matrix Industries computers, we've found that these machines make our work much smoother.
08:45From technology transfer to local manufacturing, the ambition is now to build a digital industry designed in Africa to meet
08:52the continent's needs.
08:57Egypt's vast informal recycling hub, known as Garbage City, is seeing an unexpected business boom as conflict involving Iran disrupted
09:06shipping through the Strait of Omos.
09:08Factories across Egypt have struggled to import plastic raw materials, driving up demand for locally recycled alternatives.
09:17In the maze of Cairo's Garbage City, recycling plants are working overtime.
09:23Factory owners facing soaring import costs and shipping delays are increasingly turning to recycled plastic to keep production lines moving.
09:34During the war, imports were extremely difficult.
09:37Shipping increased significantly, prices doubled and even more than doubled, coupled with the difficulty of securing dollars for imports.
09:44There was also a fear that the raw material would not arrive due to shipping issues, so the demand for
09:49recycling increased.
09:50Thankfully, we managed to clear a large amount of our inventory.
09:54Many factories that once relied entirely on imported virgin plastic are now blending recycled material into their products to reduce
10:03costs and maintain production.
10:06We used to process around 10 tons, but now we handle 20 tons a day for factories.
10:11With imports of virgin raw materials becoming more difficult, many manufacturers now mix in recycled plastic to cut costs and
10:17keep production going.
10:18As a result, more factories have turned to recycling.
10:22We are completely against the war and hope for peace, but it has accelerated the shift towards local production, recycling
10:29and reuse.
10:35While the conflict in the Middle East has disrupted global supply chains, Egypt's recyclers say it's also highlighted the strategic
10:43value of a domestic recycling industry.
10:46One that's helping manufacturers weather shortages, even as they hope for a return to peace.
10:55That brings us to the end of this edition of Business Africa.
10:59For more business stories and updates, stay tuned to African News or visit us online at AfricanNews.com.
11:06See you soon.
11:14Business Africa was presented by Turkish Airlines.
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