how can AFCFTA boost export of services in Africa ?

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is not only about goods; it’s also a game-changer for services trade, which already contributes over 50% of Africa’s GDP. Here’s how AfCFTA can boost the export of services across Africa, both in theory and practice 👇

 1. Liberalizing Services Markets Across Africa

The AfCFTA includes a Protocol on Trade in Services that aims to progressively remove barriers among African countries in five initial priority sectors:

Business services (including consulting, legal, accounting, engineering)

Communication services

Financial services

Transport services

Tourism services

As countries negotiate and implement commitments, service providers will gain market access and national treatment, meaning they’ll be treated like local companies in other African markets.

🔹 Example: A Tunisian engineering firm could offer design or project management services in Côte d’Ivoire without facing discriminatory licensing or ownership restrictions.

 2. Facilitating the Mobility of Professionals

AfCFTA encourages mutual recognition of qualifications, professional licensing, and visa facilitation for service suppliers.

This reduces red tape for professionals like doctors, architects, IT specialists, or consultants who want to work across borders.

🔹 Example: A Senegalese software engineer could work temporarily in Kenya under simplified procedures, helping tech companies integrate African talent pools.

3. Boosting Digital Trade and E-Commerce Services

The Digital Trade Protocol under AfCFTA (adopted in 2024) will enable cross-border delivery of digital services such as:

E-learning

Fintech and mobile banking

Digital marketing

Cloud computing

With harmonized rules on data, cybersecurity, and payments, African firms can scale regionally instead of being confined by national regulations.

🔹 Example: A Nigerian edtech platform can sell online courses to students in Rwanda or Ghana without complex local compliance hurdles.

4. Creating Regional Value Chains in Services

Services are inputs for manufacturing and agriculture — logistics, finance, and ICT all add value. AfCFTA’s integration will stimulate regional value chains in which services play a key role.

🔹 Example: A South African logistics company could manage transport for East African agribusiness exports under harmonized rules, improving efficiency.

5. Attracting Investment into Services Sectors

Greater regulatory predictability under AfCFTA will encourage FDI in high-value service industries (telecom, finance, renewable energy, tourism). This investment improves quality and competitiveness of African service providers, enabling them to export regionally and globally.

🔹 Example: A Moroccan insurance group setting up branches in West Africa under AfCFTA benefits from a larger integrated market.

 6. Supporting MSMEs and Women-Led Businesses

AfCFTA’s implementation plan emphasizes inclusion: it supports SMEs, youth, and women entrepreneurs through capacity-building, access to finance, and information portals. This will allow small service exporters — designers, translators, software developers — to find clients in other African countries.

7. Policy Harmonization and Regulatory Cooperation

By promoting common standards, transparency in regulations, and cooperation between regulators, AfCFTA reduces uncertainty. Service exporters can navigate multiple jurisdictions with predictable rules, essential for scaling up cross-border business.

 In short:

AfCFTA can unlock Africa’s services export potential by:

Opening markets

Facilitating movement of people and data

Creating a single African digital and investment space

Building trust through regulatory alignment

If effectively implemented, services exports could become Africa’s next growth frontier — especially in digital, financial, professional, and creative industries.