The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has renewed its commitment to transforming Africa’s automotive industry, calling for greater investment in local manufacturing, stronger regional supply chains and increased production of vehicle components across the continent.
Speaking at the inaugural Africa Automotive Investment Forum, held on the sidelines of the Alamein Africa Business Forum in Egypt, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, H.E. Wamkele Mene, emphasised the need to move beyond trade negotiations and translate agreed continental frameworks into tangible industrial development, employment and economic opportunities.
With the automotive Rules of Origin under the AfCFTA now concluded, the Secretary-General said attention must turn to implementing policies that encourage investment, expand manufacturing capacity and strengthen Africa’s participation in automotive production.
“The focus now shifts from establishing the rules to translating them into investment, production and employment,” he stated.
The Secretary-General outlined three priorities for advancing the Strategy for the African Automotive Sector under the AfCFTA framework. These include developing investment-ready projects and competitive production locations, strengthening regional supplier networks while deepening local manufacturing, and ensuring that automotive production across African markets becomes commercially viable.
A major focus of the initiative is to establish stronger connections between vehicle assembly plants and African manufacturers of essential automotive components, including tyres, glass, plastics, textiles, electronics and batteries.
Such integration is expected to create opportunities for African businesses to participate in regional production networks, increase local value addition and support the development of a competitive continental automotive industry.
The Secretary-General further underscored the importance of improving customs procedures, transit arrangements, product standards and regulatory alignment to facilitate the movement of automotive components and finished vehicles across African markets.
He also highlighted the strategic opportunity for Africa to leverage its abundant mineral resources to develop domestic processing industries, battery materials production, component manufacturing and vehicle assembly.
This approach would enable African economies to retain a greater share of the value generated from their natural resources while promoting industrial development, technological advancement and employment.
AfCFTA Secretariat Signs Strategic Automotive Partnership
In a significant development on the margins of the Forum, the AfCFTA Secretariat and the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening cooperation towards the sustainable development of Africa’s automotive industry.
The agreement was signed by H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, and Mr. Tarek Mosaad, President of AAAM.
The partnership establishes a framework for collaboration in implementing the Strategy for the African Automotive Sector, including automotive Rules of Origin, customs procedures, trade facilitation, regulatory standards, capacity building, supplier development, investment mobilisation and emerging automotive technologies.
It will also promote mineral beneficiation, enabling African countries to move beyond exporting raw materials towards developing higher-value manufacturing activities within the automotive industry.
Importantly, the agreement will support the development and implementation of the AfCFTA Automotive Investment Plan being advanced by the AfCFTA Secretariat in collaboration with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
The initiative seeks to identify viable investment opportunities, mobilise financing and facilitate the development of integrated automotive value chains across the continent.
The inaugural Forum brought together government representatives, automotive manufacturers, suppliers, investors and development finance institutions to explore opportunities for accelerating investment and industrial partnerships under the AfCFTA.
The discussions and partnership signal a shift towards practical implementation of the continental trade agreement, with automotive manufacturing identified as an important pathway for industrialisation, economic diversification and regional integration.
By connecting Africa’s mineral resources, manufacturing capabilities, investment opportunities and expanding continental market, the AfCFTA framework offers a platform for building an increasingly integrated automotive industry.
The emerging priority is to ensure that agreed trade rules translate into functioning factories, competitive African suppliers, sustainable employment and greater participation by African enterprises in continental and global automotive value chains.
