Equity Group and AfCFTA seal deal to deepen Africa’s economic integration
Equity Group and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat have entered a pact to bolster the economic integration of the 52-member region.
The two parties ratified the treaty at the periphery of the ongoing Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union in Lusaka, Zambia.
By joining forces with Equity Group, AfCFTA seeks to realize the AfCFTA Agreement and the AfCFTA Private Sector Strategy through the `Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan’, which aims to expedite Africa’s economic recovery post-Covid-19.
The blueprint lays out Africa’s socio-economic transformation framework premised on six integrated pillars that will catalyze the continent’s natural resources-led transformation, enhance agricultural output, formalize extractive value chains and connect these sectors to global supply chains.
Equity Group and AfCFTA will work on the private sector economic recovery and resilience stimulus plan, which Equity has furnished with US$6 billion, focusing on the sectors of food and agriculture, extractives, manufacturing and logistics, and a technology-enabled economy to speed up the economic recovery.
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The partnership is expected to support the creation of 50 million jobs by 2025 and foster the growth of five million SMEs, utilising the AfCFTA agreement tools. The prospective loan book is to be partitioned as follows; 30 percent agriculture, 15 percent manufacturing and 55 percent to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
During the MoU affirmation, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene noted that his organization will ensure that Africa is well poised to see off crises like Covid-19.
“Our partnership with the Equity Group is a valuable intervention for the African Continent, whereby we acknowledge that trade is going to enable our continent to accelerate economic recovery,” he said.
Equity Group CEO, Dr. James Mwangi termed the signing “a significant moment for recovery and resilience of the African continent and for the creation of wealth for our people.”
Dr Mwangi also appreciated the partnership for offering SMEs unparalleled growth opportunities and enhancing intracontinental trade.
