This contributed volume takes a country-driven assessment of efforts to implement the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). AfCFTA is, arguably, the most prominent attempt to galvanize the continent into political and economic integration in its history. The AfCFTA promises to be the largest free trade area in the world based on the number of participating countries, and forecasts of its impact demonstrate that AfCFTA is potentially the most powerful instrument to significantly alter the socio-politico and economic status of Africa as a whole and place the continent on the power map of the world. In spite of this laudable and promising opportunity for African growth, the implementation of the AfCFTA has been slow as of this book's writing. It is important to undertake a comprehensive review of the implementation of the AfCFTA, in order to appraise the prevailing teething problems experienced across selected countries. Although the AfCFTA remains a continental initiative, the speed, political will, and achievements of the implementation process is largely country-driven. The country-specific review of the implementation processes of the AfCFTA presented in this book highlights context-specific dynamics, identifying best practices, understanding implementation challenges, tailoring support mechanisms, and facilitating peer learning amongst implementing countries. The book assembles international trade research experts principally from research chairs from across the continent to analyses country-specific experiences, challenges, and successes of the implementation of the AfCFTA. The book is written by seasoned African researchers/academics, primarily from foremost universities of the respective countries under consideration, for the benefit of Africa.
Denis Nfor Yuni is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Namibia and former Research Pillar Coordinator of the WTO Chairs Programme at the National University of Lesotho. He holds a PhD in Development Economics, and has over 15 years of teaching, research, consultancy, and policy experience across Africa. His research interests span international trade, regional integration, development finance, and environmental economics, with a growing focus on the AfCFTA. Denis has published extensively in internationally indexed journals and has contributed to policy research and consultancy projects supported by organizations such as the WTO, UNDP, UNIDO, AERC, IDRC, and UNECA.
Boopen Seetanah is a Professor at the University of Mauritius (UoM) and is currently the Dean of Faculty of Law and Management at the UoM, the Co Chair of the WTO Chair (UoM), the Director of Research at the International Centre for Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality (ICSTH) and the former Director of the UoM Doctoral School. His research interest is in tourism and transport, international trade and finance and development economics. He is the associate editor of a couple of impact factored journal and an editorial board member and a reviewer for numerous high rated journals. Boopen has been a regular speaker in high profile international conferences. He has been/is consulting with the government and also numerous international organizations including the UNEP, UNDP, UNECA, WTO, UNCTAD, IISD, World Bank, ADB, ILO and RMCE amongst others.
Tabitha Kiriti Nganga is a Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics and Development Studies (DEDS) at the University of Nairobi specializing in International Trade, Gender, African women studies, Poverty and Food Security. She is the Coordinator of UNCTAD VI, Chair of the WTO Chairs Program, member of the National Consultative Committee Trade Facilitation, National Consultative Committee on TBT, National Consultative Committee on University Education, Chair of the Post Graduate Studies Committee in the DEDS, and member of the Post Graduate Studies Committee in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She is the Leader of the UoN AWSC Women in Leadership Program and the PI: Participation of Women in Economics in Leadership: Management in Academic Institutions in Kenya. She is a member of the Board of Management of AWSC, member of the Board of Management of Githambia Secondary School having been a Chair of the Board for 15 years.
