ATA conducted contributed to the study on “Implementation of the AfCFTA Protocol on Investment: a stocktake of promotion and facilitation provisions and potential effects on textiles and garments value chains.”
The study, conducted under the auspices of the AfCFTA Secretariat and supported by ODI Global, is aimed at helping African countries translate continental legal commitments into actual cross-border investments and stronger regional value chains.
The AfCFTA Protocol on Investment, adopted in 2023, marks a shift from traditional investment protection models toward a continental framework focused on investment promotion, facilitation and sustainable development. This report provides a structured stocktake of how the Protocol’s promotion and facilitation provisions – particularly under Articles 6–10 – are being implemented across selected African countries.
Using the textiles and garments sector as a case study, the report maps exactly what effective implementation means in practice for regional value chains. While progress is evident – including the designation of National Focal Points (NFPs) and digital facilitation reforms – implementation remains partial and uneven. Intra-African investment flows continue to underperform, and institutional coordination gaps continue to limit regional integration.
The report argues that realising the Protocol’s potential now requires moving beyond formal commitments toward operational reform: fully empowering National Focal Points, strengthening Africa‑focused investment strategies, improving facilitation and aftercare systems and aligning implementation with sector‑specific industrial strategies.
The study synthesises findings from ground-level gap analyses conducted across Djibouti, Eswatini, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritius, Morocco, Senegal and Uganda, as well as member states of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).
Africa Trade Academy conducted the study on the investment protocol implementation in Ghana
