By Paul Eduarko Richardson
Accra, Feb. 28, GNA – Some Ghanaian companies have set their horizons beyond the shores of the country, making the entire African continent their target market under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Ghana has made significant inroads into East Africa, notably Kenya and Tanzania being among the seven countries selected to participate in the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) of the AfCFTA Secretariat.
The GTI would enable Ghana to export over 700 AfCFTA certified products like cosmetics, processed foods, beverages, coconut oil, shea butter and garments.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo made this known when he delivered the 2024 message of the State of the Nation in Parliament on Tuesday, February 27.
“I would like to make special mention of Kasapreko Company Limited, one of our iconic local beverage manufacturers, which has commenced exports to the Kenyan market,” the President said, regarding the countries that had untilised the opportunity under GTI.
“It is a fact worth celebrating that many other Ghanaian companies now have set their horizons way beyond the shores of our country and see the entire African continent as the market to aim at,” he added.
The GTI is a pilot implementation phase aimed at ensuring acceleration in the operationalisation of AfCFTA by testing the institutional, legal and trade policy environment for the free trade agreement.
Together with the African Export- Import Bank (Afreximbank), the AfCFTA Secretariat also launched the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to simplify and make transactions across the continent easy.
About 88.3 per cent of the Rules of Origin–a strategic framework for determining goods that qualify for preferential tariff treatment originating from the State parties under the AfCFTA– have also been negotiated.
The AfCFTA Secretariat has recognised Ghana as a shining example in the implementation of the continent’s free trade agreement.
GNA