Gems & Trade: AfCFTA’s Guided Trade Initiative & AGJEC's Role in Empowering Africa

At a time when the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is under scrutiny for limited information flow to exporters, bilateral and regional trade seem to be the trending solutions. However, the AfCFTA’s Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) has come into focus as a potential game-changer in scaling African industry, particularly within the gemstone sector. Launched in October 2022, the Guided Trade Initiative aims to facilitate "commercially meaningful" trading under the AfCFTA, address legal and institutional bottlenecks, and send a strong signal to African economic operators. The initiative represents a much-needed energy boost for the AfCFTA's implementation process, connecting businesses for export and import within and across Africa.

?Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, emphasised the initiative's potential to advance Africa's industrial development, particularly while tariff negotiations remain unresolved. This initiative also highlights partnerships like the one with McDan Aviation, which has pledged transportation support to ensure smooth trade under GTI.

"The GTI initiative has potential to advance Africa's industrial development, particularly while tariff negotiations remain unresolved." ~Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat

The GTI serves a three-fold purpose: enabling significant trade under the AfCFTA, assessing the operational and institutional structures within the trading environment, and communicating the benefits of AfCFTA to the continent's economic operators. This initiative provides important trade facilitation measures that also extend to the gemstone industry, aligning closely with the objectives of the Africa Gemstone, Jewellery Exhibition and Conference (AGJEC).

?AGJEC- A Platform for African Gemstone and Jewellery Trade

The AGJEC initiative, launched in Ndola, Zambia, in 2023, aims to promote intra-African trade, value addition, and the empowerment of women miners and artisans in the gemstone industry. It creates a marketplace where local, regional, and international buyers can source gemstones directly from Africa, fostering responsible sourcing and showcasing Africa's potential in the global gemstone trade. Key objectives include building robust policy discussions around Africa's gemstone supply chain, encouraging value addition at every stage from extraction to marketing, and creating a continental marketplace where Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners (ASM) can sell their products and learn best practices. These efforts are crucial as many of Africa’s gemstone-producing countries, such as Zambia, Ghana, and Tanzania, face challenges in fully capturing the value of their resources. AGJEC seeks to address this by providing a platform for African women miners and small-scale traders to connect, share knowledge, and explore market opportunities.

?While AGJEC presents a significant opportunity, several challenges remain. The inaugural meeting in Ndola highlighted difficulties that gemstone miners face, including poor market linkages, limited knowledge of the supply chain, and a lack of cutting and polishing expertise. Additionally, there was a notable absence of accurate geological data. The recommendations from this meeting included making AGJEC an annual event, establishing a master class to enhance miners' skills, strengthening collaboration between small- and large-scale miners, and seeking support from institutions such as the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) to streamline legal and trade frameworks.

?The Potential of GTI in the Gemstone Sector

Though GTI has yet to feature gemstones among the initial 96 products traded between eight participating countries, its framework offers considerable potential for gemstone-exporting nations like Ghana, Nigeria, and Zambia to capitalize on intra-African trade. Under AGJEC, there is a tremendous opportunity to build a cohesive strategy for gemstone exports, allowing African nations to avoid the traditional pitfalls of exporting raw gemstones to foreign markets for refinement. A coordinated effort between the AfCFTA Secretariat and AMDC is vital in fostering these value chains and ensuring sustainable growth in the gemstone sector.

?Is there a future for GTI and AGJEC

While GTI is still considered a "pilot" initiative, its continued expansion could see an influx of gemstone products into its trading schedules, with significant implications for the broader gemstone industry. By working together, African governments, private sector players, and regional economic bodies can harness the full potential of both the AfCFTA and AGJEC to build a vibrant, value-added gemstone and jewellery sector. As AMDC continues to support the industrialisation of Africa’s mineral wealth, initiatives like AGJEC and GTI could serve as catalysts for unlocking new opportunities across the continent. The time is ripe for Africa to not only capture a significant share of the global gemstone market but also drive sustainable development in the process.

The AfCFTA's Guided Trade Initiative and AGJEC together offer a promising pathway for African nations to break long-standing barriers in trade and create new opportunities for growth, particularly for women miners and artisans. However, the key to success lies in strategic partnerships, policy coherence, and continued dialogue to ensure that Africa’s rich gemstone reserves translate into lasting economic prosperity.

E.K Bensah.

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