It is amazing that in our present interconnected world, economic opportunities remain a mystery that creates a ripple effect of starvation for young professionals to continue searching like one finding a fruit in a tree that bears no leaf. Two decades have passed since Tanzania’s struggle with unemployment, with only a few young professionals being exempted from the aftershocks of limited economic opportunities that fade the faces of the youth globally. Thus, the establishment of the AfCFTA in May 2019 has brought back the smile to the faces of young professionals.
Projection of AfCFTA in the future
According to the World Bank, AfCFTA is expected to connect 1.3 billion people across 55 countries with a combined Gross Domestic Product value of $3.4 trillion. Fully taking control of the market through strong policy reforms and trade facilitation, AfCFTA has the potential to lift 50 million people, including the youth, out of poverty extremities. The AfCFTA is integrating the African Union (AU) and all eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to create a single superior market for the continent. Since the continent interacts with other countries globally, the AfCFTA will open all of Africa for international trade, sculpting a true figure of globalization.
In Tanzania, the pact can boost the national income if the government sets and implements strategies to utilize its full potential. According to a 2020 report World Bank, only considering the implementation of the AfCFTA with trade liberalization and Non-Tariff Barriers, Tanzania will reap the benefits of increased intra-African exports by 29 percent in 2035. Tanzania’s exporting sectors, such as agriculture, food processing, soap, textiles, chemicals, paper, and glass, are expected to gain more popularity in the global market than ever before. Intra-African exports from Tanzania to Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Zimbabwe are expected to increase. Indeed, the unexpected shooting of AfCFTA mimicking a zodiacal light generously brightens Tanzanian young professionals with potential impacts on numerous economic opportunities.
Why AfCFTA to young professionals in Tanzania?
To mention but a few, the AfCFTA has freed the zone for conducting trade in Africa. African countries that have ratified the agreement automatically become the trade market fostering trade liberalization. The borders are widely opened through tariff removal, opening the doors for most of the young professionals in Tanzania to dive as traders, employees, or consultants, and increasing employment opportunities and untapped revenue streams.
Moreover, AfCFTA is attracting a large number of foreign investors to Africa. This shift in the paradigm of investment, especially in privileged countries like Tanzania, creates economic opportunities for young professionals. The AfCFTA ceases the so-called paradox of plenty or resource curse in Tanzania and cements the basis of profitable trade through the mobilization of the available resources, including manpower, which includes young professionals. Being a resourceful country, a rush of investors to restructure Tanzania in agriculture, mining, and other sectors assures access to unlimited economic opportunities for a vast number of young professionals.
Meanwhile, AfCFTA promotes long-range planning among the young professionals as they become an important asset to be marketed and sold globally. Young professionals can consider residing and working as global citizens in any of the African countries rather than their home country, Tanzania only.
Additionally, the inauguration of the AfCFTA facilitates knowledge transfer and skills development for young professionals in Tanzania. The AfCFTA opens up new career paths in fields including finance, climate change, logistics, international relations and international trade. Bearing the fact that “knowledge is power”, the young professionals in Tanzania are empowered to conquer the emerging economic opportunities presented forth by the AfCFTA.
However, drawing parallels to the impacts of the AfCFTA on economic opportunities for young professionals, trade competition globally still exerts pressure on accessibility to economic opportunities. AfCFTA needs to expand knowledge through awareness programs to young professionals to maximize their capabilities. Also, inadequate infrastructure and inefficient logistic systems hinder the proper utilization of the AfCFTA platform. Integrating efforts with the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa and reducing transportation costs for other forms of transport, such as air and marine transport, should be prioritized to enhance connectivity between countries.
Beyond these, multiple memberships in regional integration hampers the sharing of many opportunities due to regional barriers. AfCFTA addresses countries’ multiple and overlapping memberships in RECs. The complex and multiple interwoven RECs are simplified into a single united economic system by the AfCFTA. For example, Tanzania is currently a member of more than three RECs, including the East African Community, Southern African Development Community, Non-Aligned Movement, and the AU; however, AfCFTA dissolves them to form one free integrated market.
The challenges faced by the AfCFTA serve as a call to action if we are to bring back the smiles of fading faces of young professionals not only in Tanzania but also in Africa at large. By implementing comprehensive measures that include raising awareness, increased connectivity through easy transportation, and harmonized trade policies, young professionals in Tanzania can strive towards a future where they will survive and flourish, contributing to the economic development of their respective countries and Africa as a whole.
Innocent Matekere is an Environmental Coordinator at China Petroleum Pipeline.
Photo by Etienne Girardet via Unsplash