CHAMWE KAIRA
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents significant opportunities for economic growth, trade expansion, and investment across the continent, with cities such as Swakopmund expected to play a critical role in enabling regional integration and market access.
This emerged during a presentation titled “Unpacking the AfCFTA & Access to Markets: The Role of Cities in Enabling Intra-Africa Trade” at the Invest in Africa Conference in Swakopmund.
The presentation highlighted how urban centres can drive trade through infrastructure development, logistics, industrialisation, and digital connectivity.
According to the presentation, the AfCFTA, which became operational on 1 January 2021, is the world’s largest single market for goods and services, covering 1.3 billion people across 55 African countries.
The agreement aims to promote intra-African trade and deepen economic integration on the continent.
World Bank projections cited during the presentation estimate that intra-African trade could generate US$450 billion in output by 2035, increase wages across the continent by 10%, and lift 30 million people out of poverty.
The presentation stressed that cities are central to achieving these outcomes because they serve as hubs for production, consumption, innovation, and trade facilitation.
Urban areas also host critical infrastructure, including roads, ports, rail networks, and airports, which are essential for moving goods and services efficiently.
However, several challenges continue to constrain trade across Africa, including limited paved road networks, rapid urbanisation, weak urban planning, and gaps in digital infrastructure and electrification.
To address these challenges, cities were urged to invest in transport infrastructure, logistics facilities, digital customs systems, and industrial development while promoting harmonised regulations aligned with AfCFTA objectives.
The presentation identified Swakopmund as a city well positioned to benefit from increased regional trade. The municipality’s vision is to become a leading smart city providing efficient and affordable services and infrastructure.
Among its strategic advantages are road links connecting Namibia to Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Angola; rail connections to South Africa; access to the Trans-Kalahari Trade Corridor; and proximity to Walvis Bay Port, a key regional gateway.
Swakopmund is also pursuing several infrastructure and industrial projects, including the development of a truck port at Nonidas, industrial zones, manufacturing opportunities, special economic zone initiatives, and urban agriculture projects.
Digital infrastructure is another focus area, with the city benefiting from two subsea cables serving the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, ongoing fibre-optic expansion, connectivity tower developments, and plans for data centres and digital learning institutions.
Investment opportunities highlighted during the conference include the Kramersdorf Urban Development project, truck port development, an international specialised hospital, an international convention centre, and logistics and manufacturing ventures.
The presentation concluded that cities remain central to Africa’s economic integration agenda, with Swakopmund strategically positioned to emerge as a regional trade hub as AfCFTA implementation gathers momentum across the continent.
