Law and Policy of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): Prospects and Challenges for Trade and Investment in Africa

“The Africa We Want” has developed as a critical long-term development strategy for the African continent – and has never been more relevant than in this book, which provides a thorough examination of the African Continental Free Trade Area’s role in expanding intra-African commerce and strengthening Africa’s trade position in the world market. Gathering chapters written by experts on commercial law, economic law, international trade law and related fields, it seeks to answer the following question: what are the issues that influence the African Continental Free Trade Area’s potential and challenges? The book provides an in-depth analysis of various contemporary aspects within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as well as country-specific case studies and comparative analyses of selected developments that inform the AfCFTA. As the authors show, the AfCFTA faces substantial and numerous challenges that include the existence of different regulatory environments in different countries, political instability, technical and technological shortcomings, businesses’ inability to obtain credit from banks, among other issues. This book will appeal to trade lawyers, economists, financial and prudential regulation analysts, researchers, policy and development analysts, government officials, among others. The book highlights the undeniable need for adequate continental legislative and policy frameworks to facilitate intra-Africa trade, foreign direct investment, and ease of doing business on the continent.