Opinions

African leaders have shot themselves in the foot by postponing the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) until 2021.   Sub-Saharan economies are already minor players in global trade. COVID-19 has further marginalized them by cutting links to China, Europe and North America. That makes internal integration and…

The short-term shock of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout will have a significant impact across Africa. But the continent has a newfound resilience and will come back stronger, especially if African governments seize the current opportunity for effective leadership.     Despite apocalyptic predictions, Africa may be better…

In just one year, three events have permanently reshaped Africa’s trade relationship with the United Kingdom: The entry into force of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) on May 30, 2019, the official withdrawal of the U.K. from the European Union (Brexit) on January 31, 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic in which…

The World Trade Organization has an irreplaceable role to play in transforming countries’ economic prospects and the lives of people around the world. Although the COVID-19 crisis has brought the organization’s deteriorating health into sharp focus, its further decline is not inevitable.     The World Trade Organization is in…

Racism has a global and transnational reach. The objective of the neoliberal capitalist hegemony is to make the whole world in the image of the United States. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has been slanted as the worst manifestation of the ideological battle between Beijing and Washington.        …

There are reasons to be optimistic about Africa’s post-coronavirus growth prospects says Afreximbank’s chief economist     So much has changed since the coronavirus pandemic struck, a “black swan” event that has enfeebled the global economy and set it on a path resembling the 1930s Great Depression. Commodity prices have…

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is here, and if African economies are to flourish, they must adjust accordingly. For governments, that means creating the conditions for private-sector innovation and entrepreneurship.     Not long ago, big data, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence seemed closer to science fiction than reality.…

Across the world, as countries and economies slowly reopen, Africa lags behind. We were last to experience the coronavirus—and we expect to be the final continent to flatten the curve.     Some may say it is too early, that the crisis still too deep and the recovery too distant…

These are challenging times for Africa and the rest of our global village.      As of 24 May 2020, 54 countries in Africa had recorded more than 100,000 COVID-19 cases and over 3,000 deaths. And while the number of cases continues to grow, it could have been much worse…