Date: March 6, 2024
Time: 10:00 pm – 02:00 pm (GMT+1)
Venue: Mansel Hotel

Background
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063, which aims to create a single market for goods between African countries. By eliminating customs duties on 90% of goods traded between participating countries, businesses will be able to access new markets, expand their customer base, and compete more effectively. Cameroon signed the agreement on March 21, 2018, and the nation ratified the agreement on October 31, 2019. In accordance with Article 24(1) of the AfCFTA Agreement, it became the 33rd state party by depositing its instrument of ratification with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on December 1, 2020. The AfCFTA represents a significant opportunity for Cameroon, but to fully benefit from this opportunity, Cameroonian products must be visible and readily available in the regional market. This requires overcoming several challenges. With this in mind, the Nkafu Policy Institute, a think tank of the Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation, is organizing a stakeholders’ meeting to address the challenges of promoting Cameroonian products within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The meeting will explore the theme “Leveraging on “Made in Cameroon” through AfCFTA,” with the objective of providing policymakers and other stakeholders with a comprehensive understanding of the issues involved and possible ways of addressing them. The meeting will seek to identify the various constraints hindering the visibility and availability of Made in Cameroon products, propose solutions, and make recommendations to enhance the competitiveness of these products in the regional and global markets.

Objective 

The main objective of this stakeholder meeting is to discuss and develop strategies to ensure the visibility and availability of products made in Cameroon under the AfCFTA. More specifically, it aims to:

• Raise awareness of the AfCFTA and its potential benefits for Cameroon-made products.
• Identify current challenges and barriers to the visibility and availability of Cameroon-made products in the AfCFTA market.
• Develop actionable strategies to address these challenges and increase the competitiveness of Cameroon-made products in the AfCFTA market.
• Build partnerships and collaboration among stakeholders to support the implementation of these strategies.

Expected outcomes

• Increased understanding and awareness of the AfCFTA agreement and its potential benefits for Cameroon-made products among key stakeholders.
• A clear identification of challenges and barriers to the visibility and availability of Cameroon-made products under the AfCFTA.
• A set of actionable strategies to address these challenges and increase the competitiveness of Cameroon-made products in the AfCFTA market.
• Established partnerships and collaborations among stakeholders to support the implementation of these strategies.

Target audience 

The meeting will bring together 20 participants, including distinguished think tank leaders and researchers, policymakers, representatives of regional economic communities, customs officials, and representatives of civil society organizations.

Contact details

Email: [email protected] / Tel: (+237) 654 86 72 54