<\/p>\n\n\n
By Tanko Mohammed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n No fewer than 25 Trade and Economic Officers from 14 African countries have received a masterclass to boost their capacities in trade and investment facilitation.<\/p>\n\n\n Nazaru LLC, a U.S.-based services company, delivered the free online training ahead of the planned take-off of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in January 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n An African Union Policy Officer was among the participants from Uganda, Egypt, Lesotho, Mauritania, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Togo, Mauritius, African Union, Namibia, Somalia, Mozambique, Algeria and Eswatini.<\/p>\n\n\n The recipients were drawn from institutions and organisations charged with facilitating adoption and implementation of the AfCFTA.<\/p>\n\n\n Topics covered included Market Access Development Strategies, Supply Chain Development and Sector Specific Export Strategy Development, Trade Monitoring and Trade Information, and Sector Specific Investment Promotion Framework.<\/p>\n\n\n The masterclass, according to the resource person and Chief Executive Officer of Nazaru, Ms Toyin Umesiri, is aimed at enhancing the participants\u2019 capacities to effectively drive the AfCFTA.<\/p>\n\n\n Speaking at an AfCFTA roundtable she hosted days earlier, Umesiri, a Nigerian, said that there was a skill gap among stakeholders as regards the strategic vision of the trade pact.<\/p>\n\n\n \u201cA lot has been said about the AfCFTA, including its benefits and technicalities but one thing I have observed is a skill gap on how to personalise the agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n \u201cFor everybody listening to me, the big question is now what does the agreement mean to you? What does that mean to your role and responsibility as a stakeholder?<\/p>\n\n\n \u201cFor several years now, we have been bringing global stakeholders together and we are finding that that is not enough.<\/p>\n\n\n \u201cWhat we are seeing is that there is a skills gap of taking the strategic vision and implementing it.<\/p>\n\n\n \u201cThat skill is what we need to maximise the AfCFTA for the industrialisation and development of Africa of the future,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n\n\n She noted that the trade pact would end as a pipe dream without the required human capital to effectively manage investment in the initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n Umesiri, who drives increased U.S. commercial interest in Africa, cited the \u201csomewhat failed\u2019\u2019 African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).<\/p>\n\n\n AGOA is a preferential trade policy enacted by the U.S. government since 2000 to open the country\u2019s market to eligible Sub-Saharan African countries.<\/p>\n\n\n However, many African countries have not been able to take advantage of the opportunity due largely to their inability to navigate the non-tariff barriers, according to experts.<\/p>\n\n\n Umesiri said: \u201cWe all know that eliminating tariff is one step, we also have non-tariff barriers, which is where the real work lies.<\/p>\n\n\n \u201cComing together, partnering, improving our skills and collaborating are part of the things that will move us forward.<\/p>\n\n\n \u201cAlong that line, we at Nazaru have made a commitment over the next one year to train our policy makers and business executives in terms of trade and investment facilitation.<\/p>\n\n\n \u201cWe are now armed with information, we are armed with resources to know that the AfCTA is a game changer for the continent of Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n \u201cMy challenge to everybody listening is what are you going to do? What role are you going to play in advancing the continent of Africa?,\u2019\u2019 she asked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Tanko Mohammed No fewer than 25 Trade and Economic Officers from 14 African countries have received a masterclass to boost their capacities in trade and investment facilitation. Nazaru LLC, a U.S.-based services company, delivered the free online training ahead of the planned take-off of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in January 2021. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[241,126],"tags":[247],"class_list":["post-25690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-foreign","category-trade-and-industry","tag-afcfta","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"yoast_head":"\n