Recently, we worked with members of the organized Private Sector of Nigeria, supported by Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) Africa to research the growth potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), its impact on Nigerian Micro, small & Medium Enterprises MSMEs.
Introduction
Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are established components of regional integration and have been known to promote commodity trade and investment flows by creating an enabling and improved environment for cross-border transactions (Kawai & Wignajara, 2008). The processes may also prompt a diversion of trade and investment away from countries with less favorable business conditions
(Yunling, 2010). Thus, the impact of FTAs widely differs across countries on account of a multitude of factors that affect the business environment.
For Nigeria, the impact of AfCFTA as with any other FTA, could vary on account of several market opportunities and constraints to production. Amidst this discourse, the potential impact of the AfCFTA on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) is the least understood.
This report was first published here