New golden opportunities abound for South Africa as Pretoria is set to leverage the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. The government is to reaffirm its commitment to harness its immense potential for driving local business growth and enhancing regional integration. This sentiment was echoed by Humphrey Nwugo, the Regional Director (Southern Africa) at Afreximbank, during the opening of the Intra-African Trade Fair 2025 (IATF2025) South Africa Roadshow in Johannesburg, where he urged the country to step into action. “Despite these headwinds, Africa has the capacity to navigate the challenges, accelerate industrial development, and realized the vision of a fully integrated continent.” Mene underscored the urgency of cultivating regional value chains in sectors such as automotive and agribusiness, where there is considerable scope for fostering inclusive growth.
Sihle Zikalala, deputy minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, said South Africa’s participation in the AfCFTA represents a historic opportunity to weave stronger economic ties with neighbouring nations. “We view the AfCFTA as a catalyst for expanding market access for our goods and services while nurturing inclusive, job-rich growth,” Zikalala said. At the heart of this discourse was a vision that IATF2025 should transcend its role as merely a marketplace, transforming instead into a strategic tool for bolstering policy and practical integration. Zikalala said, “through partnerships and public-private collaboration, we can develop world-class infrastructure across Africa while reducing our reliance on foreign exchange by trading in our own currencies.”
The main role of IATF is to serve as a forum for trade and investment to be discussed. For the continent’s businessmen from Cairo and Casablanca to Maputo, Windhoek and Cape Town. Africa is taking baby steps to accelerated industrial and employment growth through integration of infrastructure and technology. Key to this is the promotion of education and skills-training. South Africa will be one of two major centres in the foundation of this economic powerhouse. Nigeria is the other. An alliance between these two major economies will be the equivalent of the Franco-German alliance in the Eurozone. Intra- Africa trade means increased trade between neighbouring countries within the same regions.
Africa’s various economies will be integrated into a major powerhouse to rival other emerging world power nations. According to Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau, now that Nigeria signed the tariff concessions under AfCFTA, South Africa will have better access to markets with in West Africa and improved bilateral trade.
“While South Africa and Nigeria already enjoy strong political and economic ties, there remains untapped potential to better enhance the depth and mutual benefit of our commercial relationship,” he told business leaders and government officials at the event. Nigeria remains South Africa’s foremost export destination on the continent. However, in 2024, South Africa recorded a substantial trade deficit with Nigeria, largely owing to oil and gas imports. Therefore, Tau stressed the need to diversify the trade basket and to reduce dependency on extractive commodities. Key growth sectors identified for bilateral cooperation include automotive manufacturing, electric mobility, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and green energy, he highlighted. Further, as both countries are AfCFTA Digital Protocol signatories, Tau emphasised the importance of joint initiatives in digital trade, infrastructure and the development of technology-intensive global value chains.
The administration of President Cyril Ramaphosa has a promising bargain being offered if it enters into this partnership with Abuja. Pretoria cannot afford to turn down a mutual beneficial partnership with the continent’s most populous nation. Bilateral cooperation between South Africa and Nigeria could open the doors for the growth of Africa’s economies to rival India in the beginning, if not China. As Africa’s two largest economies, South Africa and Nigeria could bring stability and security as well as growth through economic integration. A joint partnership between Abuja and Pretoria through bilateral trade will open plans for cooperation in the spheres of not just economics and technology but security across borders. Exchanging information and cooperating on education, economics, trade, finance, science and agriculture as well as defence will go a long way in promoting security, stability and peace to encourage integration.
South Africa could embark on a new journey that will see not only its economy grow but be taken seriously by the world along with the rest of Africa. The country will be a leading player in Africa’s new single common market.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
