The International Trade Centre (ITC) and African Export-Import Bank have held a capacity-building exercise for some Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the cocoa and coffee sector. The aim was to equip them with knowledge on leveraging the myriad of opportunities from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and export their products and services to other African countries.
The workshop, dubbed ‘How to Export with the AfCFTA’, exposed participants to peculiarities and complexities of the African market and huge opportunities therein for makers of cocoa and coffee products.
During the training, participants were sensitised on adding value to their goods to meet demands of the African market and connect with businesses outside the country.
Divine Kutortse, the programme’s manager in charge of enterprise support and trade in finance at the National AfCFTA Coordination Office, acknowledged the existence of a huge market opportunity for Ghanaian coffee and cocoa product makers in the African market – and provided comprehensive information on how Ghanaian businesses can fully utilise this opportunity.
In his presentation, dubbed ‘Taking Advantage of the Opportunities of AfCFTA’, Mr. Kutortse provided a historical context to the formation of AfCFTA and emphasised the need for Ghanaian businesses to play frontal roles in promoting intra-African trade.
He noted that the AfCFTA was established with the sole aim of promoting economic integration in Africa through liberalisation of trade and free movement of goods and services.
He averred that while there are numerous benefits and opportunities within the AfCFTA establishment, it is imperative that Ghanaian businesses undertake the necessary steps to venture into other countries and dominate the space.
Mr. Kutortse further mentioned value addition and cooperation among stakeholders in the cocoa and coffee sectors as major steps for Ghanaian businesses to break into other countries.
“AfCFTA seeks to remove duties and non-tariff barriers; but if traders don’t know the industry and how to search for new markets, we may not be able to realise the AfCFTA’s full benefit.
“If AfCFTA works properly, it should be the 8th-largest economy in the world; which means there will be huge market opportunities for us. Our focus is on how we can look within, but that has been a challenge – and the strategy is how to work on it. We have Africans who consume coffee and we produce the raw materials of coffee here, so let’s look within and put in place measures to ensure that what we are trading is of high standard and value.
“We are big suppliers of coffee raw materials, so clearly we can make it work. One of the challenges for low intra-African trade is that despite our rich resources, we contribute less than 3% to global trade. One of the reasons for this is that we export mainly raw materials – and we need to change that. Our interest is in promoting value addition,” he said.
Larry Attipoe, National Coordinator for the International Trade Centre’s value chain work in Ghana, noted that the seminar will equip participants with knowledge and skills on navigating challenges that come with exporting their products.
He also disclosed that participating SMEs received knowledge on how to keep their books and records in order to facilitate their chances of obtaining funding and credit facilities.
“We want to support SMEs to overcome the challenges that confront them if they want to get into global value chains. We know that’s where the value is, so we want to remove all those barriers. The AfCFTA has created opportunities for companies who want to go beyond the boundaries of Ghana – but they need to know the rules and potential challenges, and the workshop aimed to expose them to that and give them practical tools to navigate.
“We also want them to learn the details and rules of specific countries. The workshop is to get them ready for when they want to cross the border and get their products into other countries. We are all united and committed to helping the SMEs cross boundaries and meet demands on the continent.
Wisdom Tawiah, who represented the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), reiterated his outfit’s commitment to the promotion of intra-African trade.
He encouraged participants to put into practice lessons from the workshop and help position Ghanaian businesses as leaders in the cocoa and coffee marketing sector.
Some participants who spoke to the press expressed happiness with the workshop, which they described as informative and transformational.
They promised to put into action what they gleaned from the conference, and take advantage of the AfCFTA to expand their businesses and operations.
