About the report
Africa is full of potential, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is an important key to unlock it. Unleashing continental opportunities requires prioritizing issues, channelling interventions in the right direction and removing barriers in vital sectors.
Strengthening regional trade is crucial to support greater value addition, diversify supply chains, boost resilience to crises and to industrialize – ultimately contributing to job creation and better livelihoods on the continent.
The International Trade Centre (ITC) examined value chains to identify high-potential sectors for sustainable development in Africa and the bottlenecks for firms. The value chain diagnostic supports the continent by suggesting how governments and businesses can best develop sustainable value chains.
The diagnostic contributes to Africa’s regional integration agenda and pivotal elements of the continental trade agreement. ITC’s approach – combining robust, data-driven analysis and thousands of business voices from across the continent – can help African economies develop value chains, promote sustainable economic transformation and reduce dependency on primary product exports.
From 415 possibilities, the data analysis identified 94 promising, feasible value chains at the continental level. It then drilled down further, based on trade patterns, supply, demand, market access and sustainable development indicators. The diagnostic eventually settled on four pilot strategic sectors: cars, pharmaceuticals, cotton clothing and baby food.
Each of these value chains links at least five African countries from different regions and has the potential to add value, reduce imports, lift trade, diversify economies and open opportunities for women and youth.
Background
ITC, mandated by the African Union and the Directorate-General for International Partnerships of the European Commission, implemented the Value Chain Diagnostic to identify sectors with high potential for sustainable value chain development in Africa and the bottlenecks preventing businesses from fully realizing this potential.
This report benefits from a novel, robust, data-driven analysis to determine opportunities for development of sustainable value chains - based on quantitative and qualitative factors, as well as insights from stakeholder and expert consultations.
Insights from over 10,000 interviews with African businesses have been incorporated in this report.
Related Events
Developing and Strengthening Key Regional Value Chains at Continental Scale in Africa
The AU Extraordinary Summit on industrialisation and economic diversification will see the official launch of the regional value chain diagnostic and will convene for the occasion a representation of African business and stakeholders. 22 - 23 November 2022, Niamey.
STC 2022: Unlocking opportunities for regional value chain integration within Africa
The event will present a value chain diagnostic implemented by ITC to identify sectors with high potential for sustainable value chain development in Africa, and the bottlenecks preventing businesses from fully realising such potential. 20 July 2022, Lusaka.
Unlocking Opportunities for Regional Value Chain Integration Under The AfCFTA
High-level event organized by ITC at the EU Africa Business Forum 2022 to discuss the approach and preliminary findings of the value chain diagnostic. 15 February 2022, Brussels.
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Value Chain Diagnostic Report:
Made by Africa: Creating Value through Integration
Fabriqué par l’Afrique : Créer de la Valeur par l’Intégration
Report Summary:
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