By: Kanto
Kai Okanta
Namibia has launched a
Step-by-Step Guide to Trading in Goods under the African Continental Free Trade
Area (AfCFTA) to help businesses navigate export and import procedures, meet
regulatory requirements and access preferential markets across Africa.
The Guide was launched in
Windhoek as part of efforts to advance the implementation of the AfCFTA and
create new business opportunities for Namibian enterprises.
The publication provides
practical, trader-focused information on export and import procedures, rules of
origin, regulatory requirements and the processes businesses need to follow to
trade across the continent.
At the launch, Ambassador
Jerobeam Shaanika, Executive Director of Namibia’s Ministry of International
Relations and Trade, highlighted the need to make trade opportunities
accessible and ensure regional integration delivers tangible benefits for
businesses and citizens.
Eunice G. Kamwendo, Director
of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Sub-Regional Office
for Southern Africa, emphasised the importance of moving businesses beyond
awareness of the AfCFTA towards actively using the opportunities created by the
agreement.
“Governments negotiate trade
agreements, but businesses trade,” she said, calling for greater export
readiness, market intelligence, compliance and private-sector participation.
Patty Karuihe-Martin, First
Vice-President of the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI), urged
businesses to take the lead in translating the AfCFTA framework into trade,
investment, jobs and economic growth.
“Trade agreements on their
own do not create prosperity, businesses do,” she said.
The Guide was developed with
technical support from ECA and financial support from the Government of Japan.
It consolidates essential trade information and connects businesses to key
continental trade facilitation tools.
Namibia has made progress in
implementing the AfCFTA, including completing its first export consignment
under the agreement in June 2025, when salt was shipped to Nigeria.
The launch brought together
government representatives, private-sector organisations, development partners
and other stakeholders, reaffirming their commitment to regional integration
and expanding intra-African trade.
The Government of Namibia,
ECA and NCCI are encouraging enterprises, particularly micro, small and
medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), to use the Guide to prepare for export,
explore new African markets and turn AfCFTA opportunities into trade,
investment and jobs.
