Youth traders have urged member states of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) need to harmonize tax regimes and improve internal tax policies to remove obstacles for youth and other businesspeople entering international markets.

This was raised on November 9 as participants at the YouthConnect Africa Summit in Kigali interacted with Gonaya Monei Sethora, a trade expert at AfCFTA Secretariat in a conversation about tax and non-tax barriers to trade on the African continent.

Sethora said the AfCFTA has committed to compensating member countries through its adjustment fund to ease the implementation of the continental market.

The $10 billion AfCFTA Adjustment Fund seeks to address tariff revenue losses, infrastructure deficits to facilitate trade growth and possible supply chain disruptions that would result from the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement.

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"AfCFTA is all about making trade easy,” Sethora said, responding to concerns about internal duties on goods intended for export, and the charges encountered through the export processes.

Brian Kithinji, a participant from Kenya, suggested countries harmonise their internal tax regimes to enable locally produced goods to compete in international markets.

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Sethora explained that AfCFTA’s adjustment fund is designed to cover revenue losses for member states as they phase out certain taxes and customs duties.

The adjustment fund is still awaiting operationalization. It consists of three components: the Base Fund, the General Fund, and the Credit Fund.

"When it comes to harmonization, the Base Fund of the AfCFTA adjustment is mainly to compensate member states from losses of revenues that would result from removing taxes or customs duties at borders,” she said.

"We believe that as member states eliminate financial barriers to cross-border trade, they will be compensated by AfCFTA.”

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Nathalie Siborurema from Rwanda highlighted the lack of accessible information on cross-border trade, prompting Sethora to emphasize the importance of market intelligence and information.

"Let’s try to utilize the Africa Trade Observatory, which provides information on African markets. Focus on getting the right information,” she said.

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Christian Leke Achaleke from Cameroon underscored the need to change mindsets around "Made in Africa” products. "Africans still question the quality of African products. How can we ensure that, from basic education, young people understand the importance of valuing and using local products?” Achaleke asked.

The discussion engaged youth traders from across Africa and officials from several countries, including Cameroon’s Minister of Youth Affairs, Mounouna Foutsou; The Gambia’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Bakary Y. Badgie; Tanzania’s Deputy Minister for Labor, Youth, and Employment, Pascal Katambi Patrobas; and Kenya’s Secretary for Youth, Ray Ochieng.

It was the second day of the four-day summit concluding on November 11. The YouthConnekt Summit brought together over 3,000 delegates from across Africa, including entrepreneurs, leaders, innovators, artists, and students. This year’s summit is held under the theme, "Jobs for Youth Through Innovative Skilling.”