EU Commits €1bn To support AfCFTA implementation

The African Union’s implementation of Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) has received a big boost as the European Union (EU) disclosed it will be committing about €1.1 billion to support the trade organization.
The Head of Cooperation at the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. Massimo De Luca Made this disclosure on Monday, 23 June, 2025while speaking at the 4th African Union Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Forum in Abuja.
While lamenting that access to finance remains a pressing challenge for businesses in the region, especially MSMEs, De Luca said if Africa fails to harness the potential in the informal sector for small businesses to grow, the continent would “keep going round the same cycle of despair”.
“Our EU initiative in support of the African Union in the implementation of the AfCFTA hovers around 1.1 billion euros. The African Continental Free Trade Area represents an unprecedented achievement towards realising Africa’s full economic potential and integration.
“The EU remains firmly committed to our partnership with Africa and ECOWAS for inclusive and sustainable industrial development across the continent,” he said.
Also the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Elsie Attafuah, emphasised the need for enabling ecosystems to help MSMEs move from resilience to scalable impact.
“Across our continent, MSMEs are the builders of local prosperity. They employ, they innovate, and they adapt, but they cannot thrive on resilience alone.
“They need ecosystems that work for them, platforms to commercialise innovation, access to working capital and markets both domestic and continental that recognise their value.”Attafuah said.
On his part, Permanent Representative of the African Union Sixth Region Global (AU6RG) to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ambassador Afolabi Oke, announced the appointment of Mr. Temitola Adekunle-Johnson, Special Adviser to the Nigerian President on Job Creation and MSMEs, as the Special Adviser to the AU 6th Region on Job Creation and MSME Development.
“The African Union Sixth Region Global is dedicated to representing and advocating for the African diaspora worldwide. As an extension of the African Union, we serve as the ‘Sixth Region,’ uniting people of African descent living outside the African continent and Friends of Africa,” Oke said.
On Nigeria’s export and industrialisation, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Mr. Abubakar Abba Bello, reiterated the bank’s commitment to MSME financing as a strategic pathway to value chain development and AfCFTA success.
“There’s a need for Africa to look inward to develop its value chain. We need to facilitate the success of the AfCFTA, and this is dependent on boosting production,” NEXIM boss said.