The Nigeria-Namibia Chamber of Commerce has urged state governments to strengthen trade and investment partnerships with African countries to drive economic growth and enhance citizens’ welfare.
Speaking at the Namibia-Delta State Trade and Investment Summit in Delta State, the Chamber’s President, Ben Ojo, emphasized the transformative potential of intra-African trade.
He said, “Trade is widely accepted as an important engine of economic growth and development. There are many regions and countries of the world that have been able to lift their people from poverty to prosperity through trade. In Africa, however, trade has not served as a potent instrument for the achievement of rapid and sustainable economic growth and development.”
He noted that intra-African trade is estimated at only 13%, significantly lower than 60% in Europe, 40% in North America, and 30% within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
He expressed concern that, despite informal cross-border trade raising Africa’s intra-regional trade to about 20%, it remains well below global standards.
Ojo stated that the underperformance prevents African countries from fully exploiting shared economic opportunities.
“African countries do not trade much with each other, which has meant that they have been unable to fully harness the synergies and complementarities of their economies.
“There are cases where products and services could have been sourced competitively from other African countries but were procured from outside the continent.
“He further noted that greater intra-African trade would foster regional value chains, spur innovation, and boost productivity, adding, “Increased trade enhances economies of scale, reducing production costs as output expands,” he said.
