The African Continental Free Trade Area: a significant role for IP

• Author: Marumo Nkomo/Jabulani Mthombeni/Trod Lehong
• Position: University of Cape Town/AfriqInnov8 (Pty) Ltd., Pretoria, South Africa

GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to fall by 2.8 percent in 2020, with the continent’s largest economy, Nigeria, projected to shrink by 3.2 percent. Africa’s most industrialized economy, South Africa, is expected to contract by 7.1 percent.

Unlike the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), African economies may not have the fiscal resources to provide multi-billion dollar stimulus packages and furlough programs. This reality has prompted the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Mr. Wamkele Mene, to state that, “for Africa, the stimulus package is the actual AfCFTA, the implementation of this agreement. Increased intra-African trade is what will drive economic development post-COVID-19.”

The World Bank agrees. In a July 2020 study on the economic and distributional effects of the AfCFTA, it underlined the Agreement’s transformative potential, noting that its full implementation could result in lifting around 100 million people out of poverty. But how did the AfCFTA come about? What are its key elements and what role will intellectual property rights (IPRs) play in achieving its objectives?

The IPR Protocol can serve as a catalyst for technology transfer, technology diffusion and the economic transformation of Africa’s economy from one that is primary resource-based, to one that is driven by knowledge, information and ideas.

Historical background

Since the 1960s, when various African countries gained independence, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and its successor institution, the African Union (AU), have sought to advance the ideal of Pan-Africanism and the interdependence and economic integration it encompasses.

Attaining African economic integration, however, has been inhibited by a variety of persistent challenges. These include small markets, insufficient industrialization, poor infrastructure and low levels of intra-African trade. For example, in 2019, intra-regional trade accounted for 17 percent of Africa’s exports compared to 59 percent in Asia and 69 percent in Europe.

To address these challenges, the OAU called for the establishment of an African Economic Community by 2028. To this end, African nations have placed regional economic communities at the center of the continent’s economic integration initiatives.

Despite these laudable intentions, progress in establishing the African Economic Community had stalled by the early 2000s. This was...