Advocating
Pan-African Trade and Investment

PAFTRAC unites African leaders from the private sector and provides a unique advocacy platform bringing together the African private sector and African policymakers to support extra and intra-African trade, investment and pan-African enterprise.

The platform drives pan-African results by providing a framework for private sector engagement in trade and investment issues in Africa, including policy formulation and trade negotiations to support African economies in line with the ambitions of Agenda 2063: “The Africa We Want”.

RAISING THE VOICE OF
THE AFRICAN PRIVATE SECTOR

The PAFTRAC platform seeks to synthesise the views of the African private sector on trade and investment issues, and encourage a shared understanding of the benefits of trade and investment policies.

It will bring the views of the African private sector to bear on trade and investment policy issues at the pan-African level, including its contribution to the African Union Conference of Ministers of Trade, in support of the growth of extra- and intra-African trade and investment.

ENHANCING ADVOCACY

PAFTRAC enhances advocacy and supports policy actions and recommendations of the private sector on trade; and investment issues at the national, trade corridor, regional and multilateral levels.

MOBILISING RESOURCES

PAFTRAC mobilises resources for trade/investment as well as for capacity-building initiatives that will enable the acquisition of skills and knowledge by the private sector in Africa with a view to dealing more effectively with trade and investment issues.

FACILITATING RESEARCH

PAFTRAC facilitates research on extra- and intra- African trade flows, trade finance, technology, and the implications of trade and investment policies and measures on African economies and private sector development in Africa.

Africa CEO Trade Report

The PAFTRAC Africa CEO trade Report aims to provide the African private sector with a data-driven insights to inform trade policy at the continental and regional level. The focus of the 2022 report is on the opportunities being created by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement. The AfCFTA agreement creates the largest free trade area in the world, by the number of countries participating and under which trading commenced in January 2021. To ensure the success of the AfCFTA it is crucial that the private sector voice to be heard on critical sectors of the economy including manufacturing, agriculture, energy and financial services. The Africa CEO Trade Report aggregates the sentiments of the continent’s private sector on localized and pan-African trade policies, to inform policy reform and shape the future of African trade.

The 2022 Africa CEO Trade Report can be accessed here: PAFTRAC Africa CEO Trade Survey Report 2022

Publications

Africa CEO Trade Reports

Press Releases/Communiques

MEMBERSHIP AND BENEFITS

PAFTRAC membership:

  • Enhances private sector participation in trade negotiations and investment policy formulation
  • Aligns members’ interests, enabling them to develop recommendations that balance all stakeholder needs
  • Enables participants to engage policymakers
  • Facilitates networking: supporting local entrepreneurial businesses in integrating with regional and global value chains
  • Allows for effective public-private partnership, enabling the private sector to play a more active role in shaping trade and investment policy at national, regional & continental level
  • Increases private sector influence, progressing its policy agenda through direct involvement in the design and implementation of trade and investment agreements
  • Allows exchange of information and technical support where expertise in policy formulation is lacking
  • Progresses the private sector policy agenda

Membership of PAFTRAC is open to representatives of African business organisations with a continental footprint; regional and sub-regional business associations and councils; Chambers of Commerce; Industry Associations; Financial institutions; professional and policy research institutions; and other relevant entities and strategic partners.

CONTACT PAFTRAC TODAY

To further explore all the benefits that membership of PAFTRAC can bring to you and your organisation, you are invited to submit your initial membership enquiry to the PAFTRAC Secretariat at PAFTRAC@Afreximbank.com