𝐎𝐤𝐨𝐧𝐣𝐨-𝐈𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐚: 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝟐𝟎% 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), says it costs Africans about 20 percent more to trade within Africa than with other parts of the world.

In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday, Okonjo-Iweala said Africa is richly endowed but continues to face deep structural bottlenecks that hinder growth and regional trade integration.

She identified weak infrastructure, cumbersome border processes, and limited industrial capacity as some of the barriers preventing Africa from maximising its trade potential under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“The AfCFTA is one of the best things to happen to Africa in recent years,” she said. “But we need to make it work faster — that means removing the logistical and bureaucratic obstacles that make it more expensive to trade with our neighbours than with the rest of the world.”

Okonjo-Iweala noted that improving trade efficiency within Africa would not only drive economic diversification but also create millions of jobs across key sectors, including manufacturing and agriculture.