The AfCFTA Secretariat and its partners on the 4D, ProPer and Caravan Initiatives, AfroChampions and the Arab Bank for Economic Development (BADEA), have announced the finalists and semi-finalists for the AfCFTA Caravan Prize.
A key criterion for the selection of the finalists and semi-finalists is for an organisation and its founders to conceive and implement models, concepts, plans, products and/or services that, at scale, can contribute to the objectives of AfCFTA and the broader Agenda 2063 of the African Union, of which AfCFTA is a flagship.
The finalists and semi-finalists were selected by jurors with a rich background in the development and economic transformation sectors. Their selection further reflects their institutions’ strong commitment to AfCFTA, SMEs, startup innovation and inclusive growth. They had the difficult task of picking the AfCFTA Caravan Prize semi-finalists, finalists, and eventual winners.
A list of finalists and semi-finalists, chosen from a pool of more than 1500 eligible candidate enterprises, can be found below and also on the Prize webpages here.
About the AfCFTA Caravan Prize
The AfCFTA Caravan Prize celebrates Africa’s SMEs, startups, social enterprises and innovator entities keen on harnessing the benefits that will be created by AfCFTA to expand continentally and flourish at the grassroots. Growing out of the earlier AfCFTA Vision and Caravan Africa competitive grants programs, the Prize seeks to discover transformative ideas to expedite AfCFTA implementation.
The Prize is a component of the broader Caravan Initiative, which itself is a flagship of the AU-led 4D Initiative. The Caravan platform aims to provide extensive soft infrastructure to boost the capacity of SMEs and startups in Africa to expand beyond their home country. It is at the base of the ProPer Network, a supply chain quality assurance program created to ensure that the “Rules of Origin” system at the heart of AfCFTA works for both governments and businesses. Caravan also powers the “jobs in green tech” program, the Digital Green Corridor, designed to promote a trade & investment corridor for Africa’s clean tech entrepreneurs to benefit from AfCFTA and the ongoing global green shift simultaneously.
The winners of the AfCFTA Caravan Prize will be announced during a gala dinner at the Arab Africa Trade Forum on the 3rd of November 2021. Members of the public are warmly invited to join the AfCFTA Laureates online at www.bit.ly/AfCFTACaravan to celebrate African entrepreneurial energy at 9:00 pm (GMT+2).
About the AfCFTA
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a flagship project of Agenda 2063 of the African Union — Africa’s own development vision. It was approved by the 18th ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2012 which adopted the decision to establish a Continental Free Trade Area. This initiative whose immediate implementation would provide quick wins, impact on socio-economic development and enhance confidence and the commitment of Africans as the owners and drivers of Agenda 2063.
The AfCFTA aims at accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations. The AfCFTA Agreement was signed on 21st March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, came into force on 30 May 2019. The scope of the AfCFTA Agreement includes the Protocol on Trade in Goods, the Protocol on Trade in Services, and the Protocol on Rules and Procedures on the Settlement of Disputes, the Protocol on Investment, the Protocol on Intellectual Property Rights, the Protocol on Competition, the Protocol on Digital Trade, and the Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade.
Please send enquiries about the AfCFTA Caravan Prize and/or the Initiative to info@afcfta.app.
