The Under Secretary General and Executive Secretary, The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Dr Vera Songwe, has said that the African Continental Free Trade Area stands to grow Africa’s Gross Domestic Product by an additional $1tn.
She said this at ECA’s Regional Business Forum themed ‘Empowering women youths to spur africa’s transformation agenda’.
Songwe said, “In a crisis, the first thing we want to do is ensure we prevent good businesses from falling below and focus a lot on retention.
“Africa, in particular, the West African region, has the population dynamics working for it. The African population is estimated at 1.3 million in 2020 of which over 250 million are the youth and it is estimated that 10 million to 12 million are entering the workforce every year but only 3.1 million of them find jobs.
“AfCFTA stands to grow Africa’s GDP by an additional one trillion dollars to deliver on what is needed: first unlocking our borders, building value chains and making sure the African women all work together to create the supply chain for textile, fashion, for agro-industry.”
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, added that it had become imperative for the society to empower youth and women.
– Punch