Every generation inherits an economic opportunity that reshapes its future. For our grandparents, it was the promise of independence and self-determination. For many of our parents, it was globalization, the opening of markets, the rise of international trade, and the realization that prosperity could be built through economic integration. ALSO READ: AfCFTA Secretariat, Ecobank Group sign landmark deal to accelerate intra-African trade, empower SMEs Our generation's opportunity may well be the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Signed in Kigali on March 21, 2018, the AfCFTA deal, under which African nations seek to create the world’s largest free trade zone, came into force on May 30, 2019. WATCH: Rwanda dispatches first mixed agric consignment to Ghana And perhaps the next generation will inherit Africa where moving goods across borders is as seamless as moving them across districts. Perhaps they will trade within a continental customs union, a common market, or an even deeper economic community that today exists only in policy papers and ambitious speeches. ALSO READ: Economic freedom remains Africa’s unfinished struggle: AfCFTA boss But before we dream about the Africa our children might inherit, we must answer a more immediate question: If Africa came shopping tomorrow, would you deliver? That question came to me right after attending a seminar in Kigali organized by Tralac on making the AfCFTA work for Rwanda's women and youth traders. ALSO READ: AfCFTA: Rwandan products launched on Ghanaian market The discussions revealed a country that is preparing seriously for continental trade. Rwanda has already issued 73 Certificates of Origin under the AfCFTA, facilitated exports worth approximately USD 2.1 billion, and exported nearly 490 metric tonnes of products under the agreement. These are not just statistics. They are signs that Rwanda is moving beyond declarations and beginning to participate in Africa's emerging single market. ALSO READ: Rwanda is where things get done, says AfCFTA’s Wamkele Mene The government's commitment is equally visible. Through the Guided Trade Initiative, support programmes for cross-border traders, partnerships that promote consolidated exports, and preferential cargo rates of USD 1.8 per kilogramme through the national carrier, RwandAir, important barriers to trade are being lowered and 62.8 percent of the second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2) budget was dedicated to economic transformation. ALSO READ: Afreximbank, AfCFTA Secretariat roll out digital trade portal in Rwanda In other words, Rwanda is preparing for Africa. But perhaps the more important question is not whether Rwanda is ready for the AfCFTA. Perhaps it is whether our businesses are preparing for it. If you produce honey in Huye or Rwamagana, what are you doing to obtain the Certificate of Origin that would allow your products to benefit from preferential access under the AfCFTA? If you process coffee, chilli, or dried fruits, are you researching demand in markets such as Goma, or Nampula, to understand what buyers there actually want? If an opportunity emerged tomorrow from a buyer in Kisangani, or Mopti, are you producing at a scale that would allow you to deliver without delay or compromise? Are you investing in the standards, certifications, and quality controls that allow your products to move confidently from Kigali to ports and markets in places like Douala, Dar es Salaam, or Conakry? Are you taking advantage of the support mechanisms, export programmes, and logistics solutions that have already been put in place to connect you beyond where you know, into corridors that stretch toward Lubumbashi, Agadez, and Lome? Are your financial records strong enough to help you secure financing when a large order arrives at Pointe-Noire? Are you building partnerships that can move your business beyond local supply chains into regional networks that link the Great Lakes, the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and West Africa? And most importantly, are you still thinking of your business as one rooted only in Rwanda? Because this is the real test of the AfCFTA. Africa may come shopping sooner than we think. When it does, will we be ready to deliver? The writer is a business consultant specializing in accounting, financial management, and strategic advisory for small and medium-sized enterprises.
