Dangote, Flour Mills, Tolaram make first AfCFTA exports

…Ship clinkers to Cameroon, native starch, textile to Algeria, Egypt

Dangote Group, Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN) and Tolaram are among nine companies that made first exports under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Other companies which leveraged the first AfCFTA opportunity are: Hwani Industry Nigeria Limited, Le Look Nigeria Limited, Secure ID Limited, Avila Naturalle, Craft Methods Limited and Ruchim Limited.

Nigeria officially commenced intra-African trade on Tuesday, July 16, under the AfCFTA protocol five years after officially assenting to the agreement in Niamey, Niger.

With the official launch of the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) and Nigeria’s inaugural shipment under the AfCFTA protocol, the country has transitioned from planning to trade under the agreement to actively enabling businesses to trade. The GTI seeks to facilitate commercially meaningful trading among state parties that have met the minimum requirements for trade under the agreement through the matchmaking of businesses and products for export and import, according to the National Action Committee on African Continental Free Trade Area.

The exports have set the stage for a new era of trade and prosperity for Nigeria as AfCFTA ranks as the world’s largest trade area with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of about $3.4 trillion and a population of 1.3 billion.

To commence the first shipment under the AfCFTA protocol, the nine Nigerian companies pulled together their made-in-Nigeria commodities and exported from Apapa Port to five countries across east, central, and north African sub-regions.

The first company to receive an AfCFTA Certificate of Origin, which enables businesses to trade under AfCFTA protocol, is Le Look Nigeria Limited. It is a Nigerian company that was founded by Chinwe Ezenwa, a female entrepreneur, specialising in bag-making.

Le Look Nigeria Limited became part of the first AfCFTA shipment by exporting bags to Kenya.

“My journey in making Nigerian bags started 39 years ago and I have been fighting to promote made-in-African goods when people dislike anything made-in-Africa, especially Nigeria. Today, our efforts have taken a centre stage in the world and we are recognised by the Office of AfCFTA and partners in Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia,” Ezenwa told BusinessDay in Lagos.

According to her, makers of Nigerian goods are now penetrating countries within the region and the GTI under the AfCFTA protocol means Nigerians need to be consistent, resilient, and innovative without waiting for the government.

She said penetrating Kenyan, Rwandan, Ethiopian, and Ghanaian markets is easier compared to European and American markets.

“The markets in these countries are huge because they are countries that do not have many industries and Nigeria’s huge population gives it a comparative advantage to gain from the AfCFTA trade area. We only need to make our people more productive by creating efficient work hours,” Ezenwa said.

The second company that keyed into the opportunity provided by the continental trade agreement is Secure ID Limited, a Nigerian company that exported smart cards to Cameroon.

SecureID is led by Kofo Akinkugbe, a Nigerian technology entrepreneur, who is group managing director.

Dangote Group exported clinkers to Cameroon. The group is owned by Africa’s richest man, who owns a $20 billion, 650,000-capacity refinery at Lekki, Lagos.