Young Voices Must Be Heard In Trade Discussions

The success of the African Continental Free Trade Area will depend, in large part, on the involvement of young people, said speakers at a COM2025 side event held to discuss making the AfCTFA work for African youth.

Opening the session, Said Adejumobi, Director of ECA's Strategic Planning, Oversight and Results Division, noted that with young people accounting for nearly 70 of the continent's population, it was imperative that they played a key role in the new trade dispensation brought on by the agreement.

"Mainstreaming African youth in the AfCFTA is not only a developmental question, it's also a democratic question. If you have young people constituting such a large chunk of our population, they have the right to be at the table," he observed.

Claver Gatete, executive secretary of the ECA said trade is Africa's "Marshall Plan" has to end structural problems and ensure its prosperity. The AfCFTA, he argued, will enable the continent to add value to its natural resources and create industries of the future.

"The youth have a big role to play to ensure that we go from 15 of intra-African trade to 30 or even 60," he said, adding that the free trade area will create more jobs for young people across various sectors and more opportunities to build their own enterprises.