Over 60% of Africa’s total population is under 25. AfCFTA must reflect the needs of the youth, from decent work to a voice in trade policymaking. At the 2025 Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (COM2025), youth and labour said the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) must promote decent work, social dialogue and inclusive growth. 

Young voices in trade discussions

The success of the AfCFTA will depend, in large part, on the involvement of young people, said speakers at a COM2025 side event held to discuss making the AfCTFA work for the youth. Youth make up almost 70% of the continent’s population.

.“Mainstreaming African youth in the AfCFTA is not only a developmental question, it’s also a democratic question. If you have young people constituting such a large chunk of our population, they have the right to be at the table.” — Said Adejumobi, Director at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary of the ECA, described the AfCFTA as “Africa’s Marshall Plan” and said it must tackle the continent’s structural challenges.

“The youth have a big role to play to ensure that we go from 15% of intra-African trade to 30% or even 60%,” he said, adding that the free trade area promises more jobs across various sectors and space for youth-led enterprises.” — Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary of the ECA

The event aimed to listen to the youth’s voices so their ideas could shape policies and programs under the agreement.

Do the youth and workers know about AfCFTA?

Almost half of the youth aged 18 to 24 surveyed by the Ichikowitz Family Foundation had never heard of AfCFTA, and 17% were only familiar with its name. 55% of the youth familiar with the free trade area believe it will significantly benefit their countries.

A survey by the African Labour Research and Education Institute found that while 78.8% of workers know about the AfCFTA, many don’t fully understand it. Over half (57.7%) said they lack information on how to access or benefit from trade agreements.

Bening Ahmed, Secretary-General of the Pan African Youth Union highlighted youth innovation and urged governments to have inclusive policymaking.

“Our governments must begin to utilise young people at all levels of policy, especially in economic policy and fiscal and monetary policy regimes a way that allows their ingenuity to come to the fore and to propel this continent onto the path of growth, development, creating the quality of life that we require as Africans.” — Bening Ahmed, Secretary-General of the Pan African Youth Union.

Labour standards are vital to trade and sustainability

It is vital that international labour standards are applied as the AfCFTA rolls out, labour experts said at a meeting on the sidelines of COM2025 on how to ensure inclusive growth and promote decent work on the back of the initiative. 

Labour experts called for the urgent inclusion of international labour standards in AfCFTA implementation at a COM2025 sideline on inclusive growth and decent work under the AfCFTA. The AfCFTA is about trade efficiency, sustainable development, inclusive growth and decent jobs for all, speakers said. Regional integration should not be at the expense of workers’ rights, the people at the centre of trade.

Hod Anyigba, Executive Director of the Africa Labour Research and Education Institute and Chief Economist at the ITUC-Africa, stressed that “trade must serve people, not just profits”. 

“We must have stronger labour protections, corporate accountability, and due diligence in AfCFTA implementation. Otherwise, trade liberalisation could lead to more informal work and poorer conditions.” — Dr Hod Anyigba, Executive Director of ALREI.

Marva Corley-Coulibaly, Chief of Globalization, Competitiveness and Labour Standards at the ILO said good jobs do not happen automatically.

“Just as we meticulously plan trade, industrial, and investment policies, we must also plan for decent work, not as an afterthought.” — Marva Corley-Coulibaly, ILO Chief of Globalization, Competitiveness and Labour Standards

Marva pointed out that critical gaps remain in the agreement, for example, addressing modern slavery, human trafficking, and occupational health and safety. She called for a new Trade and Sustainable Development Protocol and using tools like the ILO’s Decent Work Toolkit to help align trade with labour rights.

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) were flagged as prone to abuses. Speakers called for increased inspections and mandatory adherence to ILO core standards, such as freedom of association, the right to organise, and the abolition of forced labour.

ESSENTIAL RESOURCES:

• Trade Unions in Trade: A Guide to the AfCFTA
• ITUC-Africa AfCFTA Toolkit
• Trade, Employment and Trade Unions in Africa: Some Policy Options
• Trade Union Informal Cross Border Trade (ICBT) Advocacy in Africa