The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was launched in January 2021 for trade (although the treaty entered into force on May 30, 2019). It covers 54 countries, 1.4 billion people, and a combined GDP of $3.5 trillion. It is the world’s largest free trade agreement by number of members.
Today, ask a shopkeeper in Accra, a seamstress in Dakar, or a restaurant owner in Nairobi what it is: silence. Why? It’s a problem of narrative.
Why this silence is political
An agreement that the people don’t see is an agreement that the people don’t defend. And an agreement without popular advocates remains hostage to its detractors: local lobbies, external trading partners, and political classes who see it as a threat to their privileges.
If the AfCFTA doesn’t invest in digital platforms with its own narrative, others will do it for them: those who have a vested interest in the failure of African integration.
The AfCFTA suffers from a structural communication deficit on three levels:
1. The language is technocratic. Official documents speak of “tariff liberalization,” “rules of origin,” and “services trade protocols.” No one translates: if you produce textiles in Lomé, you can sell them tax-free in Lagos. The reality is there. The narrative, however, is not.
2. The promise is not embodied. Who is the face of the AfCFTA? Which entrepreneur, which farmer, which SME has actually benefited from it and whose story is circulating online? None. African institutions seem to have a chronic aversion to human stories. They prefer summits to real-life narratives.
3. The digital infrastructure is lacking. There is no AfCFTA mobile app for citizens. No accessible dashboard. No viral content designed for smartphones, the continent’s primary and often only screen. Communication is geared towards government offices, not the markets.
Digital platforms are not neutral. They amplify the powers already in place. If the AfCFTA doesn’t invest in digital platforms with its own narrative, others will do it for them: those who have a vested interest in the failure of African integration. The AfCFTA will remain a text for experts until it launches its own economic consciousness revolution—that is, a cultural movement that makes the idea of buying African, producing African, and building wealth among Africans desirable.
What to do?
Here are three concrete recommendations.
The AfCFTA doesn’t need more protocols. It needs a people who demand it. And a people only demands what they understand, what they see, what they feel is their own.
– Launch a “Real AfCFTA” storytelling campaign. Identify 10 entrepreneurs (one per sub-region) who have benefited or could benefit from the agreement. Produce short videos (60 seconds, subtitles, local language) for TikTok, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Minimal budget. Maximum impact. The AU Commission has the networks. It doesn’t yet have the stories.
– Create a mobile citizen interface. A simple application (or even a lightweight webpage) that allows any merchant to enter their product, country of origin, and target country, and immediately see: what price? what procedure? what benefit? The AfCFTA must be experienced on a smartphone before it can be discussed in a conference room.
– Train a generation of “integration communicators.” In each member country, identify business journalists, content creators, and community leaders trained to explain African trade issues in simple terms. These are the relays, the influencers. Without them, no treaty ever reaches the people.
The AfCFTA doesn’t need more protocols. It needs a people who demand it. And a people only demands what they understand, what they see, what they feel is their own. The world’s largest free trade agreement is African. It still lacks its storyteller.
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By Esimba Ifonge