ECOTRADE – Supporting the AfCFTA in Ethiopia

The conditions for the success of the AfCFTA include its rigorous implementation, dynamic private sector involvement, and strategies geared towards the diverse socio-economic needs. To achieve this, it is important to raise private sector awareness of the agreement and the interest in using it, by encouraging governments to implement it so that companies can reap its benefits, creating jobs and improving livelihoods in the process. The project focuses on four objectives:  

1. Engage the private sector in the implementation of the AfCFTA.
2. Integrate value chains.
3. Assist the competent authorities with the implementation of the AfCFTA.
4. Assist academic institutions.

The project pays special attention to women’s economic empowerment by strengthening the capacities of SMEs and enterprises run by women, such as textile cooperatives, rural agri-food units and digital start-ups, to give them full access to the opportunities of the continental market. Through its promotion of a structured public-private dialogue, the diversification of Ethiopian exports and regional integration, the project aims to make women key actors in the inclusive and sustainable growth of the country.