Connect the reporting, expertise and context behind your question.
Connect the reporting, expertise and context behind your question.
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Africa is entering a more fragmented global trading environment in which tariffs, geopolitical rivalries, shipping disruptions and competing trade alliances are changing the economics of where companies produce, source and sell.
Read the source ↗The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is frequently described as the world's largest free trade area by participating countries. Yet its greatest economic opportunity extends beyond reducing tariffs or increasing trade volumes. Its long-term strategic value lies in creating the conditions for African brands to scale across the continent and compete internationally.
Read the source ↗For decades, Africa's role in global trade has largely been defined by the export of raw materials and the import of higher-value manufactured goods. Oil, minerals, cocoa, coffee and agricultural commodities have generated export revenues, but much of the value created through processing, branding and manufacturing has accrued elsewhere. That model is increasingly being challenged.
Read the source ↗Africa's industrialisation story is entering a more consequential phase. For decades, industrial policy across much of the continent focused primarily on import substitution—reducing dependence on imported goods through domestic production. While that objective remains important, a new generation of African manufacturers is increasingly competing on a larger stage: supplying regional markets under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), integrating into global supply chains, and producing higher-value manufactured exports.
Read the source ↗Malaysia’s economy expanded by 5.3% year on year in the third quarter of 2026, slowing from 6.0% in the previous quarter as a contraction in mining and quarrying offset continued growth across most other sectors.
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