Southern African Development Community (SADC) Executive Secretary Elias Magosi speaks at a high-level forum on Botswana's private sector and the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in Gaborone, Jan. 30, 2026. (Photo by Tshekiso Tebalo/Xinhua)
GABORONE, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Southern African Development Community (SADC) Executive Secretary Elias Magosi on Friday urged Botswana's private sector to take the lead in driving the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Speaking at a high-level forum themed "Botswana's Private Sector as an Engine for Growth: Seizing AfCFTA Market Opportunities," Magosi said that AfCFTA is both a resilience strategy and a survival instrument for African economies, as global disruptions have eroded competitiveness, making intra-African trade essential.
He said that geopolitical dynamics beyond Africa's borders, such as sudden adjustments to U.S. tariffs and the prolonged conflict in Ukraine, have severely disrupted global value chains.
"These events have rippled through our economies, affecting our producers and our industries," Magosi said, adding that Africa must trade more with itself through regional and continental frameworks.
Neo Nwako, president of Business Botswana, a business chamber organization in the southern African country, highlighted the potential of the AfCFTA, which creates a single continental market of over 1.3 billion people.
"It offers unprecedented opportunities for trade expansion, value addition, regional value chains, and economic diversification," Nwako said.
He outlined key requirements for effective private sector participation, including a supportive policy environment, efficient trade facilitation and customs processes, competitive cost structures, access to trade finance, and robust institutional coordination paired with meaningful public-private dialogue.
Hosted by the Gaborone-based SADC in collaboration with Business Botswana, the forum drew senior government officials, private sector leaders, chambers of commerce, development partners and financial institutions to assess Botswana's readiness to leverage AfCFTA opportunities and to strengthen structured public-private dialogue. ■