In 2018, political and business leaders gathered in Kigali for the African Union Summit on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). When discussing the role of businesses in regional integration, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda said it best: “… The clear wish of everyone is that consultation between business and political leadership, at all levels, becomes a continuous feature of continental deliberations.”
Yet, when we conducted the first-ever survey of around 70 women’s business associations across Africa in 2020, 75% reported they had not been involved in any consultations related to the AfCFTA, and most said they were not taking advantage of regional trade agreements in general.
Although the AfCFTA recognizes gender equality as an important cross-cutting issue, three main issues popped up across the board:
- translating technical knowledge into actual change,
- ensuring women’s representation in policy discussions, and
- creating opportunities to learn from each other’s experiences.
Under the GIZ-funded SheTrades: Empowering Women in the AfCFTA project, ITC is supporting women to participate in and impact policy processes that will influence their future trade outcomes.