The Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) and ZimTrade have entered into a landmark cooperation agreement that signals a maturing of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework, serving as a deliberate effort to move regional integration beyond political rhetoric and into the realm of functional, institutionalized trade promotion.
The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by the Chief Executive Officer of GEPA, Francis Kojo Kwarteng Arthur, Esq., and his counterparts from Zimbabwe’s national trade development organization, marks a significant shift in West-to-South trade dynamics on the continent.
“This partnership reflects a shared commitment to supporting businesses, expanding export opportunities, and building sustainable economic connections between the two countries. It represents a deliberate and forward-looking effort to deepen collaboration and strengthen institutional ties”
Ghana Export Promotion Authority
GEPA noted that by fostering closer cooperation between two of the continent’s most proactive trade promotion agencies, Ghana and Zimbabwe are effectively building a corridor of commerce that leverages their respective industrial strengths at a time when African nations are increasingly looking inward to insulate their economies from global supply chain volatility.
“This is not merely a diplomatic gesture; it is a strategic alignment to bridge the gap that has hindered trade between West and Southern Africa,” the Authority noted, reiterating that the primary objective of this MoU is the deepening of institutional ties.
For years, intra-African trade has been stifled by a lack of coordinated trade intelligence and fragmented promotional efforts. Under the leadership of Francis Kojo Kwarteng Arthur, GEPA has been aggressive in its pursuit of market diversification for Ghanaian non-traditional exports.
The latest partnership with ZimTrade has secured a reliable gateway into the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, while providing Zimbabwean businesses with a sophisticated entry point into the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) through Ghana.
The MoU reflects a shared vision that the success of the AfCFTA does not depend solely on the removal of tariffs, but on the strength of the agreements, linkages, and information exchanges that allow businesses to navigate foreign markets with confidence.
Empowering the SME Engine
A key aspect of the collaboration is the focus on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs).
In both Ghana and Zimbabwe, SMEs constitute the vast majority of the business landscape, yet they often face the steepest hurdles when attempting to export across borders, with high costs of market entry, lack of trade information, and stringent compliance standards frequently keeping these businesses confined to domestic markets.
Through this collaboration, both institutions have committed to enhancing the exchange of trade information and facilitating business linkages, geared towards moving SMEs from being purely local players to becoming competitive, market-ready exporters.
It was agreed upon that this would involve a comprehensive support system where GEPA and ZimTrade act as navigators, helping local firms understand the regulatory requirements, consumer preferences, and logistical realities of each other’s markets.
GEPA and ZimTrade have offered capacity-building initiatives that would be too costly to execute in isolation by pooling resources. These programs are expected to focus on value addition and branding, ensuring that Ghanaian and Zimbabwean products do not just reach new shores, but compete effectively against established global brands.
With one of the criticisms often leveled against continental MoUs being their tendency to remain theoretical, the GEPA-ZimTrade agreement includes specific tactical frameworks for execution. The agreement explicitly creates opportunities for joint participation in trade fairs, business forums, and targeted capacity-building initiatives.
This means that the next major trade exhibition in Harare could see a dedicated “Ghanaian pavilion,” curated by GEPA, while ZimTrade facilitates similar exposure for Zimbabwean horticultural or industrial firms at the next Accra International Trade Fair.
These forums will serve as the physical meeting grounds where business-to-business (B2B) linkages will be forged.
This hands-on approach is essential for building the trust required for long-term, sustainable economic connections, since the friction of international trade is significantly reduced when CEOs and export managers can meet face-to-face, negotiate terms, and inspect product quality.
GEPA added that the broader implication of this agreement is the creation of a more enabling environment for cross-continental trade, where the exchange of trade information is streamlined and the cost of doing business is effectively lowered.
The cooperation is also expected to foster joint-venture opportunities. As Ghanaian and Zimbabwean firms become more integrated, a rise in collaborative manufacturing is expected – where raw materials or intermediate goods from one country are processed in the other to take advantage of specific regional expertise or proximity to further export markets.
The strategic partnership between GEPA and ZimTrade underscores how agencies can collaborate to drive the AfCFTA agenda forward. As these two institutions begin to synchronize their promotional efforts, the result will be a more resilient, integrated, and prosperous trade corridor that sets a high standard for the rest of the continent to follow.
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