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On January 1, 2021, free trade officially commenced under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Four days later, two Ghanaian companies became pioneer exporters of products using the AfCFTA preferences, marking a major milestone in the short but eventful history of the trade pact.

Kasapreko PLC , a manufacturer of alcoholic beverages, airfreighted a container load of goods to South Africa, while Ghandour Cosmetics Ltd shipped items by sea to Guinea.

In addition, Ghana, through its National Coordination Office of AfCFTA, shipped palm kernel oil and ceramics to Kenya and Cameroon under the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI).

Recently, Kenya introduced its tea brand in Ghana through the AfCFTA market, with the first consignment containing 1700 boxes of tea produced by the Kenya Tea Packers (KETAPA), a subsidiary of the Kenya Tea Development Agency Holdings Ltd. (KTDA).

Speaking at the unveiling of the first consignment, Mr. Eliphas Barine, Kenyan High Commissioner to Ghana, said the African market is the world’s largest free trade area, with about 1.3 billion people.

He said, however, that intra-Africa trade was less than 20 percent—a situation that needed to change as the continent was committed to creating wealth and prosperity for its people.

He said Africa was under stress in her socioeconomic development and called for support as well as the need to buy African products to create jobs for her rapidly growing youth population.

Madam Catherine Afeku, responsible for strategic communications at the National AfCFTA Coordination Office, said that having KETEPA tea in Ghana indicated that the single African market was bearing fruit.

She said Ghana would sooner than later send some chocolate, other cocoa products, and coconut oil to Kenya, so “there are opportunities in Kenya for our entrepreneurs to explore.”

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, the former Minister for Tourism, Arts, and Culture said Africa needed trade to stop its dependency on the western world.

“There is a plethora of value-added products in Ghana, and our job is to let the Ghanaian entrepreneurs know what is possible under the Guide Trade and AfCFTA,” she said.

“The GTI seeks to allow commercially meaningful trading and test the operational, institutional, legal, and trade policy environments under the AFCFTA.”

“The products earmarked for trade under this initiative include ceramic tiles, batteries, tea, coffee, processed meat products, corn starch, sugar, pasta, glucose syrup, dried fruits, and sisal fiber, among others.”

What are you waiting for? There is a $3.4 trillion market to explore through the AfCFTA. The sooner you take advantage of this, the larger your slice of the pie will be. This call is more important for entrepreneurs and startup owners in the 8 countries selected to pilot the AfCFTA: Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Tunisia.