Africa’s trade in services and the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement

The report analyzes the services sector's role in African development and the implications of the AfCFTA. It identifies Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Ghana, and Nigeria as the continent's largest services exporters. The study highlights a significant gap in comprehensive services trade data, particularly for Mode 3 (commercial presence), and recommends implementing the 2010 Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services. For South Africa, the report finds that services value added in gross exports is more than double the share of services exports, emphasizing the sector's role as an input for manufacturing. It argues for a developmental trade strategy that integrates services with industrial policy and warns against premature deindustrialization.

• The largest services exporters on the African continent are Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria, while the largest importers are Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Angola and Morocco.
• There is significant potential for increased intra-African services trade, particularly in telecommunications and sub-categories of transport, travel, and technical, trade-related and other business services.
• South Africa's services value added as a share of gross exports was more than double the share of services exports in its gross exports between 2005 and 2016, indicating that services are critical inputs for its manufacturing exports.
• South Africa is the largest intra-continental investor in Africa and was the seventh largest investor by stock into Africa globally in 2017.
• Services accounted for 44.4% of total foreign direct investment (FDI) on the continent in 2018, with the most important sectors being consumer products and retail, telecommunications, media and technology, transport and logistics, business services, and financial services.
• No single data source provides a complete picture of services trade across all modes of supply; current databases like BaTiS and TiSMoS are experimental and must be complemented by case studies and stakeholder consultations.
• African Union (AU) member states with minimal GATS commitments, such as least developed countries (LDCs), may possess greater policy space and negotiating leverage in regional and continental negotiations compared to those with extensive commitments.
• The AfCFTA services negotiations aim for a 'developmental services trade agreement' by combining GATS-type sector-specific commitments with regulatory cooperation frameworks and the right to regulate.
• There is a risk of duplication and high costs for countries participating simultaneously in parallel services negotiations under the SADC Round 2, the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA), and the AfCFTA.

APA

CATTANEO, N. (2020). Africa’s trade in services and the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Africas-trade-in-services-and-the-African-Continental-Free-Trade-Area-Agreement-_SPECIAL-REPORT-cattaneo.pdf

Chicago

CATTANEO, NICOLETTE. Africa’s trade in services and the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2020. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Africas-trade-in-services-and-the-African-Continental-Free-Trade-Area-Agreement-_SPECIAL-REPORT-cattaneo.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=CATTANEO |first1=NICOLETTE |title=Africa’s trade in services and the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=February 2020 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Africas-trade-in-services-and-the-African-Continental-Free-Trade-Area-Agreement-_SPECIAL-REPORT-cattaneo.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cattaneo2020africas, author = {CATTANEO, NICOLETTE}, title = {{Africa’s trade in services and the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2020}, month = feb, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Africas-trade-in-services-and-the-African-Continental-Free-Trade-Area-Agreement-_SPECIAL-REPORT-cattaneo.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }