Skip to main Communities My dashboard Log in Sign up Grow with Scientific Culture Published April 17, 2026 | Version v1 Journal article Open THE IMPLEMENTATION DEFICIT OF THE AFCFTA: EXAMINING THE GAP BETWEEN CONTINENTAL AMBITION AND NATIONAL REALITY Authors/Creators Yasmin Abubakar Gawi, Chigozie Enwere and Muhammad Alamin Mahmud (Contact person) 1 Show affiliations 1.
Ph.D. International Relations and Diplomacy, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja. Department of Political Science and International Relations, Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja. Department of Political Science and International Relations, Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja. Description The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) commenced in 2021, is a signature project of the African Union and brings together 1.3 billion people into one market; with intra-African trade increasing by 52% will pull another high percentage of poor Africans out of poverty. Now, African heads of state have reached a rare consensus. All but one of those 55 countries has signed it. Nonetheless, trade between African countries on the continent remains poorly integrated and collectively represents just 15-17% of continental goods trade. That gap between continental ambition and national implementation is exposed in this article, which digs up the economic reality. Drawing on extensive analysis of 34 interviews with policy makers, trade officials, manufacturers, exporters, customs officials, and scholars in Nigeria, some major problems have been identified. First, there are severe deficits in infrastructure, making the cost of trading between African countries more expensive than between the continent and the coast. Secondly, customs systems are fragmented, and member states vary in regulation. Thirdly, there's low institutional capacity and weak enforcement mechanisms. All are augmented by heavy reliance on external donors. Using neo-functionalist theory, the article points out that the African Union has successfully set agendas and developed frameworks. However, spillover effects are considerably limited by sensitivity about sovereignty, lack of a strong supranational authority, and domestic political calculation. Finally, the article returns to the country level and urges that finance be gathered, policies harmonized, institutional capacity be built up, and sustainable financing be secured to refine the AfCFTA symbol into real action. Files 532.SC4078 Ready final 1.pdf Files (313.7 kB) Name Size Download all 532.SC4078 Ready final 1.pdf md5:47acab3af76951cc22495120dab3819b 313.7 kB Preview Download 29 Views 17 Downloads Show more details All versions This version Views Total views 29 29 Downloads Total downloads 17 17 Data volume Total data volume 5.6 MB 5.6 MB More info on how stats are collected.... Versions External resources Indexed in OpenAIRE Communities Keywords and subjects Keywords Trade Liberalization, Regionalism, Policy Implementation, Non-tariff Barriers, Institutional Capacity, Infrastructure Development. Details DOI DOI Badge DOI 10.5281/zenodo.19636077 Markdown [](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19636077) reStructuredText .. image:: https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.19636077.svg :target: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19636077 HTML <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19636077"><img src="https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.19636077.svg" alt="DOI"></a> Image URL https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.19636077.svg Target URL https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19636077 Resource type Journal article Publisher Zenodo Published in SCIENTIFIC CULTURE, 12(2.1), ISSN: 2407-9529, 2026. Rights License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International The Creative Commons Attribution license allows re-distribution and re-use of a licensed work on the condition that the creator is appropriately credited. Read more Citation Export Technical metadata Created April 17, 2026 Modified April 17, 2026 Jump up About About Policies Infrastructure Principles Projects Roadmap Contact Blog Blog Support Help FAQ Developers REST API OAI-PMH Contribute GitHub Donate Funded by Powered by CERN Data Centre & InvenioRDM Status Privacy policy Cookie policy Terms of Use This site uses cookies. Find out more on how we use cookies Accept all cookies Accept only essential cookies