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Unleashing the development potential of Africa’s women through African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA)
Abstract
This paper aims to analyse the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and its potential to unleash the development of women in Africa. The envisaged benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement include increased trade diversification, regional integration, enhanced human security, increased foreign direct investment and technological advancement. Despite optimism about the prospects of the agreement as a local innovation spearheaded by the African Union, pessimists raise questions about the extent of stakeholder engagement. The agreement must be gender-responsive to enhance outcomes for women cross- border traders. The paper concludes that the lack of gender sensitivity confirms the need to address the specific needs of African women over-represented in informal cross-border trade. Hence for ACFTA, the policy focus should be on ensuring the formalisation of women who partake in informal trade, thus helping increase access to markets, information, and growth opportunities.
Keywords: development; free trade agreement; gender sensitivity; unleash Introduction
The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is viewed as the foundation and motivator for economic development in Africa. The envisioned benefits include:
1. Increased trade diversification.
2. Regional integration.
3. Inclusive and sustained development.
4. Increased foreign investment and technological advancement.
Women, directly and indirectly, play a role in the trade sector and present a powerful tool for development in cross-border trade. However, African women face persistent challenges and barriers as they are vulnerable and systematically discriminated against regarding economic opportunities, specifically in the trade industry. Furthermore, they are not in equal standing with their male counterparts.
African national economies are dominated by men, with a limited industrialisation agenda focused on trade liberalisation for women. Parshotam and Balongo (2020) raised concerns that African women play an active role in the economy, but their effort is in vain and certainly needs to be recognised. Unanam (2020) stressed that systematic discrimination against women created inequalities in access and ownership of resources, such as property and land. This situation has emanated from culture and traditions prohibiting women from owning productive resources.
Thus, they are obliged to depend on men for ownership, aggravated by the patriarchal system and behaviour that prevents women from significantly contributing to the economy.
Trade inequalities create minimal opportunities for women to benefit from economies of scale, access to raw materials, and intermediate inputs (Onwuka & Udegbunam, 2019). Therefore, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) marks a new era in the African continent and is viewed as a critical pillar of inclusive and sustainable development. However, the continent still has the lowest intra-regional trade output globally. This is attributed to persistent barriers, such as high trade costs, lack of diverse network readiness and inadequate institutional support to improve intra-trade Africa (Ferreira & Steenkamp, 2020).
2 The paper reflects on how the AfCFTA will benefit women through inclusive and sustainable development, including how the agreement has the potential to address all barriers that militate against women’s participation in the trade sector. However, despite this perceived contribution of the trade agreement, African women remain trapped in the lower levels of the continental and global economy. This situation has placed African women in a disadvantaged position, relegating them to playing a lesser role in intra-Africa trade.
Creating a free trade space for women, in particular, increases production and enhances African countries' global value chain. Improved participation of women in trade increases productivity as a critical driver of Africa's economic growth. The paper argues that there is a lack of detailed analysis of how women would benefit from the agreement. The African Union (AU) has been tasked with overseeing the effective operation of the AfCFTA and ensuring the coordination of women's participation. Challenges in policies and the documented standard practices that govern the operations of intra-trade in Africa still need to develop mechanisms that adequately embrace gender-inclusive trade. Fundamentally, trade in Africa was historically not purposely created to address the gender needs of women, resulting in the absence of public-private partnerships that enhance the sustainability of women's participation in the trade sector.
Bhoke-Africanus and Starnawska (2019) expressed great concern that women in the trade industry continuously face prejudice in formal and informal business settings. Therefore, the paper argues that the lack of policy focus on women concerning trade is a barrier and a great hindrance to the progress of intra-African trade. This suggests that low trade liberalisation should be addressed before committing to more ambitious continental trade initiatives focusing on women. While African governments have put some effort into eradicating cultural barriers and other unfair practices against women, women are certainly not enjoying their rights in the trade industry compared to their male counterparts. Onwuka and Udegbunam (2019) commended the significance of expanding inclusiveness in implementing the AfCFTA through the ownership and participation of African women. Similarly, if Africa is not explicit and clear in the AfCFTA about the role of women, the chances of significant inclusive development and stronger intra-trade Africa are minimal. The paper critically argues that the cross-border policies do not fully recognise women's economic needs.
This paper employed a qualitative research approach to develop a critical argument from previous research by focusing on the development potential of Africa's women through intra-African trade.
It offers a detailed critical review of the literature on the history and background of African trade.
It provides an overview of the potential benefits and barriers to intra-African trade. This is done through analysing the role of the AfCFTA in combating gender inequalities in the trade industry and the policy responses by African governments to mitigate the existing challenges against women in the industry.
The Conceptualisation of Trade Within an African Context
The standard narrative has been premised on increasing continental trade for socio-economic development and political integration. This paper argues that Africa can potentially boost trade considerably should countries work together to alleviate a plethora of issues compounding trade, such as high tariffs and duties. Considering the insights of Songwe (2019), while trade takes place in Africa, the study observed that trade in Africa is dominated by a few countries, making it cumbersome and a holistic trade-integrated platform. The need to increase trade, considering its socio-economic benefits, cannot be minimised, but one of the most contentious policy debates in Africa concerns how domestic, regional, and international markets should be organised (Van de Walle, 1994). The African Continental Free Trade Area understands that Africa has potential.
However, the literature shows a poor record of reform in terms of inadequate attention to the institutional foundations of markets and poor infrastructure (Govereh & Jayne, 2002). This suggests that the shortcomings have hindered growth and given rise to the perspective that policy reform and trade liberalisation have been false promises. For example, intra-African trade is dominated by a handful of countries selling a handful of products. In sub-Saharan Africa
3 (excluding South Africa), five countries — Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe
— provide about three-quarters of all intra-African exports (Songwe, 2019).
The preceding deliberation points to issues that have long been deemed barriers to African trade.
Many countries are infrastructurally challenged and lack effective internal policies to harmonise trade. The political discourse within Africa today considers how the AfCFTA can ensure the consolidation of adequate infrastructure to boost trade integration. The paper also discusses the continent's uneven and unequal development levels. Subsequently, this means that not all African countries will likely enjoy the benefits of harmonised trade; instead, those with sufficient infrastructure and policy support will do so. Arguably, this has been another point of contention within the AfCFTA. Unfortunately, intra-Africa trade statistics are not optimistic: intra-regional trade accounts for 17% of Africa's exports compared to 59% in Asia and 69% in Europe (Songwe, 2019). Essentially, Africa is not trading enough with itself. Compounding this, the UN Conference on Trade and Development argued that one of the main challenges to intra-African trade is the non-tariff barriers. When there is a deficit of political goodwill, justifications are made to slow down trade. Africa News (2019) also observed the lack of financing and infrastructural challenges as issues hampering intra-African trade.
The continent needs $300 billion by 2020 to build quality infrastructure. It has been argued that the AfCFTA will be hugely positive for African trade. Such narratives, however, have yet to consider that while globalisation and trade produced the impressive economic expansion of the past three decades, the gains have not been fairly distributed. This is because of the skewed levels of development continentally (Songwe, 2019). Furthermore, according to modelling results by the Economic Commission for Africa, as cited by Songwe (2019), countries that trade with themselves exchange more manufactured and processed goods, have more knowledge transfer, and create more value. This paper shows the limited attention paid to informal trade, which has become a well-entrenched phenomenon in Africa, with women dominating that sector. Trade cannot be discussed without addressing the unattended and open nature of African borders and how this has given rise to trade that often goes unrecorded. Bouet et al. (2018) explained that informal cross-border trade (ICBT) represents a prominent phenomenon in Africa. Several studies have suggested that, for certain products and countries, the value of informal trade may meet or even exceed the value of formal trade.
The focus in Africa has been regional integration through trade integration and formal trade through official trading channels. Also noted is that trade in Africa is characterised by many challenges that have been compounding the need for trade integration for decades. There seems to be little political will to integrate trade through increased intra-regional trade policies. Despite these impediments, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (2020) maintain that a unified Africa can overcome these issues. Cofelice (2018) opines that the AfCFTA presents an opportunity for trade integration, though considerable consensus and compromises must be made.
Additionally, while trade liberalisation supports the notion of reducing trade barriers, African leaders in the past have struggled to agree on how they should collectively go about integrating trade. This failure has often been interpreted as a lack of desire amongst African countries to boost trade. Concern has also been registered on the limited attention afforded to women's role as trade facilitators, both within the confines of formal and informal trade. For the AfCFTA, one cannot ignore the observation that women informal cross-border traders still suffer from invisibility, stigmatisation, violence, harassment, poor working conditions and lack of recognition of their economic contribution. By ignoring women's informal trading activities, African countries neglect a significant proportion of their trade (Koroma et al., 2017). Against this backdrop, the AfCFTA argues that there is a need for a better understanding of what is required in the context of the AfCFTA to enhance women's economic opportunities as an intrinsic component of gender equality and women's empowerment. This will help drive sustainable development in all dimensions towards a more beneficial outcome for all.
Current efforts at regional integration date back to 1994 when the Abuja Treaty identified a subsequent need to involve the elimination of tariffs on goods traded within the various regional
4 economic communities to create free trade areas (Mutume, 2002). The Treaty also proposed that non-tariff barriers would be eliminated, and a standard external tariff was adopted to form a customs union. Higher trade taxes on the continent compared to other regions are among the factors discouraging trade among African countries. These challenges are not in isolation; they have been encouraged by politicians who have disagreed to agree on how trade can be integrated through policy harmonisation. Also, women play an important role in informal cross-border trade.
Hence, it becomes imperative for the AfCFTA to ensure the prioritisation of policies that will enhance their overall participation.
Informality in Trade: A Cross-Border Perspective
Informality in trade exists worldwide, although it is more prevalent in developing countries, considering that about 2 billion (61%) of the global population is employed in the sector (Bonnet et al., 2019). Internationally, the informal sector employs more men (63%) than women (58%), but in developing countries, the total percentage of women far exceeds that of men. Various terminologies are used in literature to describe the informal economy, such as shadow economy, black economy and unreported economy/market. Informal cross-border trade (ICBT) is the market-based exchange of legally acquired and manufactured products across borders (Kahiya &
Kadirov, 2020). Alternatively, Afrika and Ajumbo (2012) and Ogalo (2010) explained informal trade as operations involving trade with processed and/or non-processed merchandise legitimately produced imports and exports in the country of origin. However, the products can be described as illicit, depending on whether the merchandise is subjected to regulatory frameworks or statutory border formalities set by states. Chikanda and Raimundo (2017) examined informal traders as entrepreneurs with the potential to grow significantly. They should not be viewed as survivalists struggling to subsist.
Young (2020) referred to informal economic activities as governed but argued that these, in most cases, take place in part outside of the official legal and regulatory systems of states. The definitions suggest that the exchanges mostly fall outside the regulated space. Though legally produced, the question of goods and services directly or indirectly escaping from regulatory frameworks could be attributed to numerous reasons, such as avoidance of transaction costs and taxes imposed and, thus, encouraging informality. Kahiya et al. (2020) and Etim and Daramola (2020) excluded the informal trade activities that comprise blatant illegal business operations, arguing that such operations may not be classified as part of the informal sector. The authors further described three recognised classifications of informal cross-border traders: operations by unregistered traders that fall entirely outside the formal economy. Formally registered businesses that partially evade paying taxes and duties in surreptitious ways, and registered businesses that wholly evade paying taxes and duties. The complexity and difficulty in quantifying the commercial value of the traded goods is noted.
Ogalo (2010) claimed that the products are sometimes unrecorded or incorrectly recorded in the official statistics of the trading countries contributing to data deficiencies on informal trading.
Young (2020) further noted that a deeper conceptualisation and more comprehensive account of what constitutes informality and informal economic governance still requires attention in Africa.
Sassen et al. (2018) contended that the informal sector is mainly non-regulated by the government and offers insecure employment without labour protection. However, Afrika and Ajumbo (2012) posited that ICBT is a source of income for approximately 43% of the population in the African continent. Informality characterises the African economic and social landscape (Afrika &
Ajumbo, 2012; Brenton et al., 2014; Etim et al., 2020). Although two billion people globally are said to be engaged in informal employment, translating to 61% of the labour force worldwide participating in this sector, precise estimates are impossible to obtain on informal trade. Most people in developing countries, particularly in Africa, depend indirectly or directly on the informal sector for survival. Joseph et al. (2020) maintained that about 80% of Africa’s employment is in the informal sector, and the sector has the highest contribution to the GDP in Africa. In South Africa, the sector contributes 28% of the GDP, though most of the production is
5 never recorded. Further, millions of households in Africa generate their livelihoods through informal trade by those who find themselves or systematically excluded by the formal system, such as women and the youth.
Estimates provided by Kahiya and Kadirov (2020) indicate that informal cross-border trade (ICBT) accounts for 70% of employment in sub-Saharan Africa and accounts for approximately 40% of intra-African trade in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Malta et al. (2019) argued that 92% of the total employment in sub-Saharan Africa is derived from informality, and the sector accounted for 38% of the GDP between 2010 and 2014. Despite the challenges experienced in conducting cross-border transactions, informality contributes to food security and provides employment opportunities and could positively contribute to macroeconomic development. However, there is still a need to clarify whether informal economic activities contribute to inclusive development. Additionally, in the quest to formulate a firm development policy agenda, there is a need to understand the implications associated with informal economic activities on livelihood generation. It is undeniable that informality must be addressed as it remains a pillar of socio-economic development for many African women. Hence, there is an urgent need for its reconceptualisation as it still needs to be better understood and inadequately supported, despite its economic potential.
Young (2020) found that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework does not explicitly expound informality. He identifies several SDGs related to inclusive development, livelihood generation, poverty reduction, equality issues, security, and people's general well- being. Some of these goals, which also relate to the AfCFTA, include Goal 1 (no poverty); Goal 2 (zero hunger); Goal 3 (good health and well-being); Goal 5 (gender equality); Goal 12 (responsible production and consumption processes and Goal 16 (justice, peace and strong institutions). Incorporating informality in the SDGs must be considered as this will provide content to policy prescriptions. Kahiya and Kadirov (2020); Malta et al. (2019); the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), 2017); Brenton et al. (2014); Ramani et al. (2013) identified women as forming the majority of the participants in the informal sector, and this seems to be the primary source of income and also acts as a conduit of employment. Further, women account for 60% of informal cross-border trade, even though the majority have low education levels, making it difficult for them to straddle the formal and informal divide. Ramani et al. (2013) discussed that women tend to predominate in the lower-value-added activities of the informal economy.
They operate as hawkers/street vendors and engage in home-based production, an undervalued activity characterised by rampant marginalisation. Further, women are less able to compete in labour, capital and production markets because of social and cultural norms and low levels of education and skills (Malta et al., 2019; Ramani et al., 2013). Accordingly, Niymbanira and Sabela (2019) argued that the gender gap in labour force participation has remained consistently high at 14,9% in 2010 and dropped by 1% to 13,1% in 2016. Women's share of the total informal workforce in non-agricultural and private households seems higher than men's. Again, women traders are said to be without bankable assets and do not know how to operate businesses (Kahiya
& Kadirov, 2020). The authors explained the hardships and barriers widely and constantly encountered by women in ICBT, referring to brutal societal gender dynamics. This brutality involves constant fear of threats or physical, emotional and psychological harm. Operations for most women in ICBT oblige them to sell their bodies and souls or accept stigmatisation as prostitutes in that they are sometimes forced to choose boyfriends as touts at specific border crossings. They are also forced to conspire with border control or transport providers, who demand sexual favours in exchange for commercial transactions. The authors argued that ICBTs do form or join associations, but these sometimes fail to protect their members. Traders who belong to associations often face more harassment at the border, and the associations are often irresolute (Kahiya et al., 2020).
Ramani et al. (2013) maintained that literature on women's economic participation in the economy comprises feminist critiques that have always focused on patriarchy and capitalism as complex issues contributing to marginalisation. Ramani et al. (2013) further explained that recent literature
6 is more aligned with issues of equal representation in decision-making structures and programmes aimed at enhancing marketing and financial literacy skills. This also includes enacting policies and regulations promoting access to productive assets. The most crucial question revolves around how represented women are, particularly those in the informal trade, in decision-making structures because this would lead to increased inclusiveness and highlight the plight of women in informal trade. In contrast, Ogalo (2010), researching the profile of ICBT participants in the Eastern African Community (EAC), found that participants belong to formal and informal businesses. The author argued that most ICBT participants understand the regulations and duties;
they knowingly evade these by falsifying information about the country of origin of products, the content or description of goods, value or weight and quantities in order to pay lower custom duties or have goods declared as tariff-free and at times bribery is practised. Further, the author opinioned that ICBT is becoming more complex, finding that the educational level of the participants is now characterised by lower levels of education, as found to be the case in the past.
The results, however, do not provide disaggregated data on the gender composition of the participants.
Other studies have indicated that women with lower levels of education cannot freely engage in formal businesses or dominate the informal sector (Anyansi-Archibong, 2021; Zhanda et al., 2022). Women constitute more than the average proportion of 94% in the agricultural and non- agricultural informal sectors compared to men. The informal sector is also characterised by a lack of security, lower earnings, and less stability (Malta et al., 2019; Ramani et al., 2013). Women remain trapped in activities that require lower levels of education and skills and thus provide lower incomes, which perpetuates gender gaps between men and women and reduces economic growth. The informal sector has proven its essentiality in poverty reduction and the creation of employment opportunities in which the poor mainly engage in producing and trading goods destined to cross borders. The FAO (2017) maintained that informal cross-border trading has been ongoing for several years and has proven to be a means of livelihood generation for those left out of the formal sector and has thrived where formal employment opportunities have been minimal and rapidly shrinking.
In 2014, the National Informal Business Upliftment Strategy (NIBUS) was established through the Department of Trade and Industry in South Africa. It was tasked with ensuring entrepreneurs in the informal sector received sufficient support and allowed their businesses to grow into vibrant enterprises, from survival to sustainable and high-performing businesses. Even though South Africa has argued for the need to support the informal sector (through some regulation) for years, the NIBUS was seen as the first nationally coordinated policy and approach to focus on informal businesses. Nevertheless, critics of the NIBUS argue that it is narrow in focus. While the informal sector is more prevalent in township areas (Townships, In South Africa, are defined as areas that were designated and came to exist due to under apartheid legislation for exclusive occupation by people classified as blacks, coloureds, and Indians), there is a considerable amount of informality in the border in the form of cross-border trade; neglecting this fails to conceptualise informality holistically. The policy is premised on the idea that informal businesses will eventually move to mainstream businesses, but this fails to recognise that such evolvement may not be possible without support and knowledge.
AU Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals: Consolidating Empowerment Through Trade
By 2063, the AU hopes to achieve a politically stable and economically prospering Africa, reduce inequality, and contribute to women's empowerment through trade integration and liberalisation.
The AU (2012) acknowledged that women are still largely absent from formal trade and that the majority of trade undertaken by women falls within the category of cross-border trade, which, in most cases, is informal. Maphanga (2018) agreed that even though the launch of the AfCFTA comes at an opportune time to help accelerate women's growth and development, there is a great
7 deal of work to be done to ensure the equal participation of women in the decision-making related to trade integration. Subscribing to this view, Njikam (2011); Parshotam and Balongo (2020), and Njikam (2011) noted that cross-border agricultural trade by women has the potential to generate income and sustain livelihoods. However, the active engagement of women in trade is subdued by factors such as poor or low levels of education, lack of land, credit, transport and extension services—the true potential of women in trade is yet to be fully realised. Many small-scale farmers in the continent are women. Participating in international trade can benefit women and increase gender parity, offering new job opportunities, higher wages and more economic development for communities. Governments must target the reduction of trade barriers and ensure that businesses include and empower women (White, 2020).
The AU agenda for 2063 acknowledges that the AfCFTA will create opportunities that will benefit many women, particularly across the continent, as the export of goods and services is boosted. Moreover, Williams (2020) stated that evidence has shown that when more women join the labour force, especially when they become entrepreneurs, there is a rise in the gross domestic product. This then spills over to the family and community, resulting in improved levels of education, increased levels of health, reduction in poverty and starvation, and stronger communities. One of the goals of the Agenda 2063 is to ensure full gender equality in all spheres of life through the empowerment of women and, therefore, we argue that trade integration in the continent has the potential to economically uplift women and ensure their direct participation in the collective development of the continent. In support, the World Bank (2013) stated that many small farmers are women in many African countries. However, the role of women and their contribution to trade has yet to be at the desired level because of nontariff barriers that impinge particularly heavily on the trade activities of women and women-owned enterprises. These barriers have often relegated the role of women in trade to the confines of the informal economy, which is characterised by a lack of formalisation, information and finances. In turn, the potential of women in trade is diminished. Therefore, in support of the AU agenda 2063, the AfCFTA should remove barriers to the growth of women in trade integration, promote women-owned businesses, and promote entrepreneurial support to women's businesses. Additionally, the SDG on gender equality (SDG 8) by 2030 aims to ensure productive employment, decent work for all women and men, including young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.
Bayat and Luke (2020) reflected that, in Africa, women are confronted with deeply rooted gender- based discrimination and inequalities for decades; hence, women in the continent are disproportionately among those left behind, socially and economically. At the same time, women present a powerful force for development, and the consolidation of women in the AfCFTA remains critical to its ultimate success. To ensure the consolidation of SDG 8, the support for women in the AfCFTA will ensure an increase in agricultural productivity and food security targets, which will be vital in addressing SDG 2 (no hunger). Highlighting the need to empower women with the required telecommunications support, information, and networking opportunities further provides education opportunities (SDG 4) (Bayat & Luke, 2020). As argued earlier, because women account for the vast majority of informal cross-border trade, African governments should identify the priority needs of women cross-border traders, support the formalisation of such trade and devise gender-responsive trade facilitation measures that respond to those needs, and then assist them in entering the formal sector (SDG 8). Finally, we posit that the support of women in intra-African will, in the long run, contribute to meeting SDG target 8.3 (“promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalisation and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services”) on the formalisation and growth of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (Williams: 2021:10).
Development Potential of Women in Trade within the AfCFTA
The World Economic Forum and African Development Bank have always looked at intra- continental trade to promote economic development and growth in Africa (Olney, 2020). A mega-
8 regional trade agreement has been established, the AfCFTA, to create a single market for goods and services to deepen economic integration and place the African continent in a better position to cope with broader development. According to Akinkugbe (2021) and the UN (2020), the agreement represented a strategic step towards accelerated intra-African trade and broadened economic development and cooperation among countries within the African continent. Dictated by the rules of origin of goods and/or products, the justification for the regional trade agreement mainly centres on member states securing preferential market access. The UN (2020) sees the AfCFTA as having the potential to raise productivity and promote investment, which could increase income levels and reduce poverty. However, Akinkugbe (2021) raised concern about the uncertain and chaotic state of the African economies, which are characterised by widened inequalities. The author questioned how much the agreement engenders a fair, equitable and distinct competitive African market. The issues raised create a sense of disquietude on how well the agreement explicitly considers the development potential of women in trade within the AfCFTA.
Among the eight strategic objectives of the AfCFTA, this paper considers three objectives that are crucial and have transformative effects that speak directly to women and participation in trade and ascertain trade opportunities for the systematically marginalised groups. The strategic objectives considered include:
1. The creation of a single market for goods and services that is to be facilitated by the movement of people and capital,
2. The promotion of sustainable and inclusive economic development, and 3. The enhancement of competitiveness.
Similarly, the paper recognises one of the operational objectives: establishing institutional frameworks for the administration, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the AfCFTA.
The potential benefits of the AfCFTA are extensive as they relate to sustained and inclusive growth through the increased economic output of the continent (UN, 2020). Further, the AfCFTA can unlock Africa’s business potential, accelerate industrial development and economic diversity and create job opportunities. The UN Working Paper (2020), UN (2019) and the UN Report on Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurship (2019) positively identified opportunities for women involved in the trade or the business sector within the framework of the AfCFTA. The agreement aims to produce new trading and entrepreneurial chances for women in various economic sectors, including the traditional female sectors, such as agriculture, manufacturing and services (UN Working Paper, 2020). The protocol on rules of origin allows access to low priced materials that will benefit women involved in value-chains to increase production. The provisions, though not directed to women as such, have empowering effects on women as producers and can provide direction on how to exploit new economic opportunities. As a result of the AfCFTA, vulnerable women can take their rightful place as economic agents. The agreement provides a platform to facilitate structural transformation, economic diversification and development.
Akinkugbe (2021) observed that the AfCFTA seems to integrate a rule-based trade liberalisation regime which does not factor in the difference in trade diversification of its members.
Furthermore, to ensure effectiveness in terms of its implementation and operationalisation, it becomes essential for the AfCFTA’s formal rules of economic integration to be aligned with those of member states. This will ensure that such rules of engagement are legitimatised within a national perspective and create synergy with the trade policies of member states.
Despite the perceived transformative effects of the agreement, including the potential to increase the value of intra-regional trade, gender inequality and marginalisation still prevail and continue to have a destructive effect on economies. The UN (2020) correctly noted the deficiencies in the agreement. It does not have a separate chapter on trade and gender through the preamble.
However, it explicitly references the importance of gender equality for developing international trade and economic cooperation. Article 3 (e) of the agreement emphasises promoting gender equality as one of the objectives of AfCFTA. Several provisions in the agreement relate to expanding the capacity of women to take part in trade opportunities (UN, 2020). In addition,
9 Ismail (2022) envisaged that women participating in value chains stand to benefit based on the provisions of the protocols on Rules of Origin permitting access to cheaper raw materials.
The 2019 Report of the UN on the opportunities for women entrepreneurs views the agreement as a tremendous innovation in promoting sustainable and inclusive economic development and enhancing competitiveness. However, the completeness and success of the AfCFTA are dependent on addressing inequality in all its forms. Further, the report maintains that the AfCFTA should establish, from the onset, what the agreement means for women in terms of their engagement in cross-border trade, value chains and public procurement, including having a flexible policy space that benefits all stakeholders, particularly those that never had equal access to economic opportunities. The UN (2020) cautioned that the benefits of the AfCFTA are not automatic and, hence, the agreement needs to consider the gender-differential effect of trade liberalisation. The provision on inclusivity suggests that those who engage in trade will generate their livelihood and gain access to essential goods and services and employment. However, the agreement can threaten development because it could serve as a source of unfair competition for formal businesses and reduce state revenue through limited tax collection and compliance. It can also represent a form of exploitation that perpetuates poverty and entrenches inequality (UN, 2020). However, a deeper understanding of women's significant role in intra-regional trade and their contribution towards the continent's socio-economic growth is pertinent. The agreement superficially makes provision for women's entrepreneurial opportunities presented by the AfCFTA.
The agreement could improve and enable access to regional and international export markets.
This requires mainstreaming women in these markets, which may require capacitation through education and training, improving access to information and communication and infrastructural support provision. Most African countries struggle with gender mainstreaming in their policies and programmes. Some forces could lead to unequal distribution of costs and benefits.
Differences in access and control over productive resources between men and women can increase gender inequality. Explicit measures are needed for small-scale traders, with a clear objective and strategy on the support of women cross-border traders. The agreement has to include conditions for facilitating economic transformation, especially for women traders. A gender perspective in the agreement analysis is required for responsiveness to the need for trade liberalisation and a robust enforcement mechanism to ensure that women’s rights and autonomy are upheld. Sectors to be considered are more women intensive (Pieters, 2018).
Challenges Hindering the Consolidation of Women Within the Context of Trade
Informality, and the role played by women in informal trade, are not conceptualised and inadequate gender-disaggregated data on cross-border trade flows worsen this. According to Bayat (2020), successful implementation of the agreement requires understanding the different groups, the vulnerable in particular, such as women and the youth. It calls for clarity concerning the roles played by women in the informal economy, and this includes understanding gender dynamics for women traders, sectors dominated by women and priority sectors that have the potential to advance the economic empowerment of women in trade. Ignoring the conceptualisation of gender could defeat the achievement of the proposed operational objective of establishing an institutional framework for the administration, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the AfCFTA. The opinions of non-governmental organisations and women in various media platforms confirm the importance of considering women and young people in the trade and the need to look further than what is obvious to ensure all inclusion. Specific challenges are raised about the extent to which the agreement ensures the inclusion of the youth and women in trade (UNDP, 2020). Most trade agreements tended to benefit and advance the interests of the elite and big corporations, and the AfCFTA is viewed as an instrument for Africa’s development, for pushing back the frontiers of poverty and for empowerment and the creation of trade opportunities for the disadvantaged, the youth and women in particular.
10 The UN (2019) explained the nature of women in informal cross-border trade (WICBT) as highly informal, with high transaction costs, border delays, corruption, insecurity, gender-based sexual harassment, poor infrastructure and weak trader association. Njenga and Ng'ambi (2014) commented on women's high levels of marginalisation and discrimination. They experience multiple challenges, such as sexual harassment meted out by government and customs officials.
In support, Kahiya and Kadirov (2020) argued that ICBT constitutes a problem because it may provide women with gainful employment opportunities whilst presenting opportunities for their exploitation, which intersects with various forms of illegality. Women operate in constant fear of threats, and they are sometimes forced into sexual encounters to gain protection at border crossings to derive success in commercial transactions. This sometimes leads to the stigmatisation of women and makes them prone to the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases.
Akinkugbe (2021) claimed that the AfCFTA, in its current form, does not adequately explain how it proposes to address inequality and the distributional effects concerning the informal economy.
The study by UN women titled "Opportunities for women entrepreneurs in the context of the African continental free trade area" revealed that even though women are likely to benefit from the agreement however, important considerations that must be taken, such as: ensuring inclusive participation of critical stakeholders in AfCFTA negotiation processes, enhance the availability of relevant gender-disaggregated data, perform comprehensive gender analysis and studies to support evidence-based AfCFTA policymaking, conduct advocacy and awareness raising on gender and AfCFTA issues, monitor AfCFTA processes in responding to gender gaps in trade and strengthen women's trade associations and networks (UN Women, 2019). The UN economic commission for Africa also reflects that although numerous benefits are associated with the AfCFTA, these benefits will not occur automatically. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to remove the deeply rooted gender-based discrimination, and pervasive inequalities, which have left women across the region disproportionately among the left behind (Bayat & Luke, 2020).
Women in Africa understand the importance of this free trade agreement; however, there is a lack of clear communication regarding how they will benefit.
The paper acknowledges that an inclusive continental free trade has the potential to benefit women and other groups, such as the youth, who were previously excluded or had no access to opportunities or were unable to participate in trade. Likewise, it notes that inherently limited production capacities could significantly impact the quantity and quality of what is produced.
This mainly talks to women with relatively low levels of education compared to men, particularly noting impediments relating to access and ownership of productive resources and assets (Njenga
& Ng’ambi, 2014). Further, women enjoy limited access to finance compared to men, and obtaining credit facilities is burdensome due to a lack of collateral. This limits their potential to expand their businesses or to compete as equals with men or large-scale companies. The UN Report (2019) claimed that the AfCFTA offers a window of opportunity for intra-African trade and to diversify and structurally transform the state parties. Access to cheaper raw materials and intermediate inputs is envisaged as one of the opportunities through which all stakeholders, including women, participating in value chains will benefit. However, Akinkugbe (2021) viewed firmly established structural and socio-economic inequalities and imbalances in power without clarity on how the agreement plans to facilitate the continent’s structural economic transformation. The AfCFTA aims to create a single market to serve member countries with divergent experiences, but there seems to be no clarity on how this will be achieved.
Conclusion
The paper concludes that women continue to be marginalised, and their contribution is systematically on the periphery. This could lead to the resounding failure of intra-African trade regarding the proposed inclusive integration. The paper acknowledges that more could be done in the AfCFTA to ensure a more significant emphasis on gender responsiveness. The preamble explicitly recognises the significance of gender equality in trade liberalisation and inclusive development. But there is a lack of clarity about establishing institutional frameworks for
11 operational procedures, such as administration, implementation, and evaluation of the AfCFTA regarding gender issues. Currently, the agreement references equality issues in the preamble but needs a more detailed explanation of the actual implementation of trade liberalisation. A separate chapter in the AfCFTA is required so that the agreement could enhance outcomes for women in trade and unleash their development potential. The paper concludes that gender inequalities in the trade sector are still contentious issues requiring African governments to ensure that the AfCFTA considers a whole chapter on gendered trade liberalisation where explicit information is provided.
Adequate and disaggregated data needs to be made available to understand the sector and the profile of stakeholders in order to make policies and strategies that are targeted and context- specific. The AfCFTA fails to factor in the difference in trade diversification of its members and superficially adopts a 'one size fits all' approach, which is impractical due to the complexity of the sector and the heterogeneity of activities. African governments need to learn lessons from each other and the international community on mainstreaming the informal sector to maximise the benefits and minimise constraints. In its analysis and implementation of the agreement, the flagship programme of the AU, the AfCFTA, needs to be explicit and have a more robust enforcement mechanism on gender-related trade liberalisation. African governments should establish a system that will cater to women's needs in intra-trade Africa by establishing women's economic empowerment interventions within the AfCFTA.
More effort should be directed at eradicating the patriarchal culture that impedes gender equality in the trade sector. The paper recommends focusing more on women, especially grassroots workers who partake considerably in informal trade. ACFTA, thus may have an essential role in ensuring the formalisation of this trade and greater access to market opportunities for women.
This will ensure the eradication of existing inequalities in the sector. The Agreement (AfCFTA) has the potential to combat patriarchal economic systems to safeguard inclusive intra-trade Africa and ensure its sustainability. The paper further suggests that African governments should formulate practicable intra-trade policies that enhance the economic status of women in the industry. In essence, issues impeding women’s trade activities must be removed; policies that support trade should be entrenched, and inter-state government relations should share the same visions regarding trade integration.
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