Ghana must intensify efforts to educate small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) about the opportunities available under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to expand the country’s presence in the continental market, the National Coordinator of the National AfCFTA Coordination Office, Dode Seidu, has said.
He said although Ghana had made progress in implementing the trade agreement, limited awareness among businesses remained a major challenge to fully exploiting its potential.
Mr Seidu disclosed that Ghana exported non-traditional goods to 47 African countries in 2025, describing the development as evidence of the progress made in positioning local businesses to benefit from the continental trading arrangement.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, October 21, he said the achievement reflected efforts by public institutions and private-sector players to integrate AfCFTA into their operations.
However, he stressed that more needed to be done to ensure that businesses, particularly smaller enterprises, understood how to access the opportunities created by the agreement.
Ghana makes progress in AfCFTA implementation
Mr Seidu explained that Ghana was the first country to establish a national coordination office dedicated to supporting the implementation of AfCFTA.
The office was established to coordinate activities across government agencies and institutions, ensuring that the agreement was incorporated into their policies and operations.
He said several institutions had since taken steps to align their activities with the continental trade initiative, demonstrating Ghana’s commitment to expanding trade and investment across Africa.
Among the initiatives, he cited the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre’s establishment of an AfCFTA focal desk to facilitate and attract investment among African countries.
Mr Seidu also pointed to the country’s non-traditional export performance as an indication that Ghanaian products were reaching markets across the continent.
Referring to the 2025 annual non-traditional export report issued by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, he said Ghana’s exports had reached 47 African countries under the AfCFTA framework.
“If you look at the annual export NTE non-traditional export report issued by Ghana’s Export Promotion Authority in 2025, we exported to 47 African countries under the AfCFTA,” he said.
SMEs need greater awareness
Despite the progress, Mr Seidu identified inadequate awareness among SMEs as an area requiring urgent attention.
He said many businesses were yet to fully understand the benefits of the agreement and how they could position themselves to trade beyond Ghana’s borders.
According to him, intensifying public education and providing businesses with the necessary information would be crucial to increasing participation in intra-African trade.
He emphasised that the benefits of AfCFTA could be more widely realised if local enterprises understood the requirements, opportunities and processes involved in accessing other African markets.
Greater awareness, he suggested, would help businesses explore new markets, expand their customer base and increase their contribution to Ghana’s export performance.
The AfCFTA seeks to create a single continental market for goods and services, with the broader objective of boosting intra-African trade and supporting economic integration.
Mr Seidu’s comments highlight the need for Ghana to build on its existing export achievements by ensuring that more local businesses, particularly SMEs, are equipped to take advantage of the opportunities available under the agreement.
