The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Local Consumption of the Republic of Togo, in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is taking women traders and entrepreneurs through a series of workshops to develop their capacity to participate in the AfCFTA.

These series of workshops will enable the beneficiaries to identify the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area. Also, it will allow participants understand and have full grasp of the measures taken by Togo to take advantage of the agreement, while also helping participants to identify export markets for Togolese goods.

Furthermore, these cohort of women will also be trained on the relevance of documents required for export operations and non-tariff barriers faced in foreign markets.

The series of workshops which started on 1 July 2021 will continue till 15th July 2021 in six cities, including the capital Lomé, Kpalimé, Atakpamé, Sokodé, Kara, and Dapaong, a statement released by ECA indicates.

In his message during the opening for the workshops, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Local Consumption, Claude Talime Abe expressed his excitement with the involvement of the private sector in general and women in particular in the implementation of the AfCFTA in the country.

“The proper application of the provisions of this agreement requires from you a perfect understanding and mastery of the procedures and conditions that goods must meet to benefit from the continental preference,” he indicated.

The ambassador of the European Union (EU) in Togo, Joaquín Tasso Vilallonga, delivering his speech, said: “It is essential to ensure now that the AfCFTA is implemented from a gender perspective and that the women involved, those who are in cross-border trade as well as those who produce goods or services to be traded across borders, are well informed of this opportunity,” he averred.

Other potential opportunities opened to participants

Also speaking, Komi Tosowu, a representative from the Economic Commission Africa (ECA), intimated that the implementation of the agreement would allow the key players in the economy “to integrate a number of regional and continental value chains as identified in the national strategy for the implementation of the AfCFTA that Togo has developed.”

Consequently, the statement said some 350 women out of 35 groups across the length and breadth of the West African country are taking part in the workshops as part of the European Union-funded project: “Deepening Africa’s Trade Integration through Effective Implementation of the AfCFTA to Support Economic Integration.”

The Economic Commission for Africa through its African Trade Policy Centre has been working with the African Union Commission (AUC) to deepen Africa’s trade integration through the effective implementation of the agreement by supporting the AfCFTA ratification process through policy advocacy.

The ECA is also assisting the member-states to develop national strategies for the implementation of the AfCFTA in partnership with the AUC, International Trade Centre (ITC), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and a selection of independent trade experts with the financial support of the EU.