Mahama Calls AfCFTA Africa's Most Ambitious Trade Plan
President John Mahama has described the African Continental Free Trade Area as the most ambitious integration project in the history of the African continent.
Speaking at the Africa Trade Summit 2026 in Accra, President Mahama emphasized that industrial integration requires market integration, highlighting the significance of the African Continental Free Trade Area in providing a single market of over 1.3 billion people for African industry to expand.
The Africa Trade Summit 2026, organized by the African Trade Chamber in partnership with the Government of Ghana, aims to advance industrialization, trade, and investment under the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
President Mahama noted that while the African Continental Free Trade Area transforms Africa into a viable manufacturing and investment destination, it will not automatically industrialize Africa without deliberate linkage to industrial policy, infrastructure investment, and enterprise development.
He stressed the importance of reducing non-tariff barriers, simplifying customs procedures, improving logistics, and investing in digital trade infrastructure for the African Continental Free Trade Area to deliver on its promise.
President Mahama also highlighted Ghana’s experience, emphasizing that industrialization works when policies are deliberate, infrastructure is reliable, skills are developed, and macroeconomic stability is maintained, with investments in transport, energy, and technical education being foundational.
Good governance, he noted, is equally important, as investor confidence thrives when institutions are strong and policies are predictable.
Africa’s industrial transformation, according to President Mahama, cannot be achieved solely by governments; it requires leadership and stability from governments, investment and innovation from the private sector, long-term financing solutions from financial institutions, alignment with Africa’s priorities from development partners, and coordination and removal of barriers to integration from African institutions.
President Mahama urged fellow African leaders to envision an Africa with thriving industrial corridors, integrated supply chains, and competitive factories producing for both African and global markets, emphasizing the need for urgency and resolve to move from declarations to delivery, from agreements to implementation, and from vision to construction.
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