Regional Integration for African Development

Abstract

Regional integration is important in driving economic growth, innovation, and shared prosperity.• Regional integration in Africa remains low across the five dimensions—free movement of people, trade, infrastructure, production, and macroeconomic integration—of the Africa Regional Integration Index. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, which came into effect on 01 January 2021, remains one of the most ambitious and laudable efforts to further integration of the continent. AfCFTA protocols—trade, services, competition, intellectual property, and dispute settlement—should be viewed collectively as a means of increasing productivity of Africa’s natural and human capital through appropriate incentives for the private sector, innovation, investment, and infrastructure. African governments and regional institutions must attract private investments in infrastructure, remove constraints on the factor and product markets, encourage healthy competition among businesses, and foster innovation to drive productivity.