30th May, 2019 : Africa made history on Thursday, May 30, 2019, by bringing into force the free trade zone, the largest trading market in the world : The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

Albert Muchanga, AU Commissioner for trade and industry in a social media post, appreciated the persistence and dedication of the member-nations towards the trade ties.“Historic milestone! AfCFTA Agreement has today come into force.“We celebrate the triumph of bold, pragmatic & continent-wide commitment to economic integration.”

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, said “I hail Amb. Muchanga and his team for their relentless work to ensure the entry into force of AfCFTA in a record 18 months, ushering in the world 's largest trading market of 1.2 billion people with a combined GDP of $2.5trillion,”.

In case, you have been living under a rock and do not know what AfCFTA is, read below for all the details:

After the establishment of World Trade Organization ( WTO ) the AfCFTA is the biggest in the world. The mission of the agreement is to create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business people and investments.

Nigeria is not a part of the agreement yet, but plan to join soon. Here’s why

After the largest economy of the continent’s about union questioned the economic treaty, the country is still conducting an impact assessment of the trade agreement. But, Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah is quite certain that the nation will soon join the other members in the free trade agreement.

When talking to British-Sudanese billionaire, Mo Ibrahim last month, Africa's richest man and foremost industrialist, Aliko Dangote mentioned that he believes the African government has ought to make regional trade workable before going all into the continental trade agreement. He believes that when it comes to regional markets, there is no free movement, quoting the example of the Benin Republic which does not allow his Cement product but would rather import from China. 

The Billionaire might be onto something as Ridwan Sorunke, a Public Affairs analyst also told Business Insider Sub-Saharan Africa that sans political will, the AfCTA may suffer a similar fate to the AU passport.

22 countries were required to sanction the deal. Interestingly, 24 African countries signed the deal. Burkina Faso was the latest country (and the 24th) to part with the AfCFTA agreement after depositing Instrument of Ratification on Wednesday.

On 7 July 2019, at its summit in Niger, The African Union plans to phase out the agreement. The summit will be held to tackle other outstanding issues as well, including but not limited to: arbitration measures, tackling corruption etc. 

The free trade agreement is the biggest in the world since the establishment of the World Trade Organisation. The objective of the agreement is to create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business people and investments.

Nigeria to join soon - trade minister

Reporting for EasyKobo on Thursday , 30 May 2019 in Lagos, Nigeria