Stories by Yinka Kolawole
A recent survey carried outby the Pan-African Manufacturers Association PAMA has revealed that many manufacturers in the continent are not able to benefit fully from the African Continental Free Trade Area AfCFTA agreement due to infrastructure deficits and poor logistics.
The report titled, African Continental Free Trade Area: Impact and Opportunities Assessment for Africas Small and Medium-scale Industries, noted that 34 percent of Small and Medium-scale Industries SMIs surveyed across the continent identified inadequate infrastructure and weak logistics networks as the most critical obstacles affecting optimal intra-continental trade.
PAMA is a continental Business Membership Organisation BMO established in 2018 to promote Africas industrial transformation under the African Unions Agenda 2063, and is recognized by the African Union Commission as the representative of manufacturers on the continent.
According to the report, the survey covered 207 manufacturing firms across sectors such as food and beverages, textiles, plastics, and chemicals.