From: lessgovt@gmail.com   
      
   The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a free trade area   
   encompassing most of Africa. It was established in 2018 by the African   
   Continental Free Trade Agreement, which has 43 parties and another 11   
   signatories, making it the largest free-   
   trade area by number of member states, after the World Trade Organization, and   
   the largest in population and geographic size, spanning 1.3 billion people   
   across the world's second largest continent.   
      
   The agreement founding AfCFTA was brokered by the African Union (AU) and   
   signed by 44 of its 55 member states in Kigali, Rwanda on 21 March 2018. The   
   proposal was set to come into force 30 days after ratification by 22 of the   
   signatory states. On 29    
   April 2019, the Saharawi Republic made the 22nd deposit of instruments of   
   ratification, bringing the agreement into force on May 30; it entered its   
   operational phase following a summit on 7 July 2019, and officially commenced   
   1 January 2021. AfCFTA's    
   negotiations and implementation are overseen by a permanent secretariat based   
   in Accra, Ghana.   
      
   Under the agreement, AfCFTA members are committed to eliminating tariffs on   
   most goods and services over a period of 5, 10, or 13 years, depending on the   
   country's level of development or the nature of the products. General   
   long-term objectives include    
   creating a single, liberalised market; reducing barriers to capital and labor   
   to facilitate investment; developing regional infrastructure; and establishing   
   a continental customs union. The overall aims of AfCFTA are to increase   
   socioeconomic development,   
    reduce poverty, and make Africa more competitive in the global economy.   
      
   The UN Economic Commission for Africa estimates that AfCFTA will boost   
   intra-African trade by 52% by 2022. A report by the World Bank anticipates   
   that AfCFTA could lift 30 million Africans out of extreme poverty, boost the   
   incomes of nearly 70 million    
   people, and generate $450 billion in income by 2035. On January 13, 2022,   
   AfCFTA took a major step towards its objective with the establishment of the   
   Pan-African Payments and Settlements System (PAPSS), which allows payments   
   among companies operating in    
   Africa to be done in any local currency.   
      
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Continental_Free_Trade_Area   
      
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