Faced with the world’s fastest-growing working-age population—projected to add over 620 million people to its labor force between 2025 and 2050—the continent’s current economic model simply isn’t working. As the October 2025 edition of the World Bank’s Africa’s Pulse highlights, despite strong overall growth projections, Africa is seeing too little conversion of GDP gains into formal, wage-paying jobs. Each year, about 12 million people enter the labor market, yet only 24% of existing jobs are salaried. The result is that most workers remain trapped in low-productivity, informal sectors, limiting the continent’s potential for inclusive growth. On our blog.

The 2025 PAFTRAC Africa CEO Trade Survey Report reveals that amid the US protectionist tariffs and disrupted shipping routes, Africa’s top executives are increasingly turning their attention to intra-continental opportunities. The survey’s key message is that global fragmentation is accelerating continental integration, that Africa needs to trade more with itself to build resilience and reduce dependence on volatile external markets. The same shocks that threaten Africa’s access to traditional markets—uncertainty over AGOA renewal and the US’s shifting tariff policies—are strengthening the belief that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is the continent’s most important option and vital economic safeguard.

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