Now, more than ever before, there is the dawn of a new possibility: of a future of thriving business enterprises and opportunities. Of creating the products that Africans need across the continent – and of leaving the margins characterized by informality, and entering centre – stage of the African market terrain.

Before the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), it was possible to have hope – but the architecture to dress that hope – for a regional integration – based continental market, was missing. Now, with the world’s largest trade zone, by virtue of participating countries, the AfCFTA heralds the dawn of a single market - for goods and services – capable of boosting intra-African trade, increasing investment, and driving socioeconomic transformation for the women of Africa. 

Now, none of this will be automatic. UNDP has invested in national consultations across 27 countries – together with UN Women and the AfCFTA Secretariat. And our findings, documented in a ground – breaking report: The Engine of Trade in Africa – confirm that women have very high fences to scale to get to the promised land of an AfCFTA – driven thriving enterprise. 

Infrastructure bottlenecks, inaccess to affordable finance, discriminatory laws and regulations, non – ownership of productive resources, the complexity of trade information and jargon, ever changing rules for export trade – are but some of the challenges women face. And yet, all of these are exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine – both mounting disproportionate impacts on women’s economic opportunities and social welfare.