President Cyril Ramaphosa said the Intra African Trade Fair 2021 (IATF2021) would bridge gaps between governments as it aspires to connect all the regions of Africa to deepen economic integration and boost intra-African trade and investment.

He addressed the opening session of the trade show, which is being held in Durban, from November 15 to 21.

The trade show provides a platform for linking international buyers, sellers and investors, as well as allowing for participants and visitors to profile and share market information and investment opportunities in support of intra-African trade and the economic integration of the continent.

Hosted by the South African government, in conjunction with African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), IATF2021 focuses on the newly-launched African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The AfCFTA is an African Union initiative that creates a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments.

South Africa will leverage the IATF2021 to highlight the best of local manufacturing capabilities in, besides others, the agriculture and agroprocessing, automotive, construction and infrastructure development, consumer goods, energy and power, engineering, footwear, leather and textiles, heavy industries and light manufacturing, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, information and communication technology and innovation, logistics and mining sectors.

Ramaphosa said this year’s trade show was about building bridges and bringing together governments, buyers, investors, entrepreneurs and manufacturers from more than 55 countries to give life to the AfCFTA.

“The goods, products and services exhibited at the fair represent all the countries of Africa, and its success rests on the participation of all of us.

"The AfCFTA aspires to connect all the regions of Africa, to deepen economic integration and to boost intra-African trade and investment. It aspires to create a single market for goods and services across 55 countries and our continent, creating a market of as much as 1.3-billion people with a combined gross domestic product of $3.4-trillion,” he added.

Ramaphosa said that Africa was now taking concrete steps to write its own economic success story by opening up new fields of opportunity.

“One such opportunity is in Africa's rapid adoption of locally developed fintech, of which M-Pesa is the most well-known. It is an example of financial and technological innovation in which Africa leads the world.”

Ramaphosa further reiterated the call for Africa to produce its own food and medicines, to strengthen continental supply chains and to invest in infrastructure and capacitate African institutions.

“We can no longer have a situation where the resources of Africa provide employment and add value in other economies, while so many of our people live in poverty and conditions of under-development.

“To illustrate the extent of the challenge, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa estimates that Africa imports about 94% of its pharmaceutical and medicinal needs from outside the continent at an annual cost of $16-billion,” he said.

He noted that the AfCFTA had the potential to accelerate economic growth across the continent and create opportunities for entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations, to flourish.

“The AfCFTA will provide new export opportunities for ‘Made in Africa’ products and enable member countries to trade with each other without tariffs or other hindrances. All of this will help the continent to absorb the 10-million to 12-million African youth looking to enter the job market annually."

Ramaphosa said the AfCFTA would unlock more value and give effect to the dream of African development by promoting complementary trade between countries.

“It is about using the combination of the continent’s raw materials and industrial capacity, finance, services and infrastructure to produce quality finished goods for local and global markets. It is about creating a market large enough to attract investors from across the world to set up their production facilities on the continent," he said.