Ten Nigeria companies have officially commenced the shipment of made-in-Nigeria products across Africa under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) protocol, following the launch of the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI).
The GTI was launched on July 16, 2024, signaling Nigeria’s commencement of the intra-Africa trade, 5 years after the country officially assented to the AfCFTA agreement in 2019, and more than three years after the official take-off of the trade agreement in January 2021.
The companies are exporting made-in-Nigeria products to five countries across East, Central, and North African sub-regions. This marks the first time Nigeria is engaging in formal intra-Africa free trade outside the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries.
The companies are Dangote Group which exported clinkers to Cameroon, Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN) native starch to Algeria, Tolaram wrappers to Egypt, Le Look Nigeria Limited bags to Kenya, and Secure ID Limited smart cards to Cameroon.
Others are: Hwani Industry Nigeria Limited which shipped Nigerian-made water closet sanitary sets to Kenya, Avila Naturalle black soap and shea butter to Kenya, Craft Methods Limited alcoholic bitters to Uganda, and Ruchim Limited SIM and bank cards to Kenya.
However, while applauding the development, stakeholders in the export ecosystem have warned that existing infrastructure deficit and regulatory bottlenecks could hinder Nigeria’s potential gains from the intra-continental trade deal.
