AfCFTA – African free trade bloc opens for business, but challenges remain (Joe Bavier, Reuters, WEF)

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) began on New Year’s Day 2021.
It aims to bring continent-wide free trade to 1.3 billion people in an $3.4 trillion economic bloc.
But challenges including poor road and rail links, political unrest, and excessive border bureaucracy will not disappear overnight.