The 2022 Ibrahim Index of African Governance, published this month by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, dedicates a special section to the Intra-African trade and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). After noting that the majority of African countries in Africa, still today, mainly trades outside the continent than with other African countries, the report observes that intra-continental trade has progressively declined since 2012, reaching in 2021 a percentage of 13% of Africa’s total trade, in comparison to 66.9% in Europe, 63.8% in Asia, and 44.4% in the Americas. Obviously, this percentage does not take into account those cross-border trade transactions that occur informally at African borders, that in some countries are estimated as being even superior to formal trade.

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The Africa Prosperity Dialogues, or "Kwahu Summit" are continuing smoothly in Ghana. On 27 January 2023, discussions were focused on how to develop partnerships between the private sector and African governments, on the indissoluble connection between trade and foreign direct investments, and on the role of the African diaspora as a catalyst in driving economic growth and development in Africa within the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The African Diaspora has been recognized as a potential source of investments in African economies which can be leveraged also for transferring human capital, knowledge, and technology into the continent. In this regard, African States have been invited to develop diaspora engagement policies to identify strategies for engaging, maintaining and developing relationships with communities of their citizens living abroad. The experiences of Ghana and Ethiopia were mentioned, two countries that have estimated communities of over 3 million of people living abroad. This topic was also discussed during the first day of the event.

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