• As Shettima reaffirms Nigeria’s resolve to champion AfCFTA
Vice President Kashim Shettima, yesterday, joined other world leaders to push for the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) with a target to boost Africa’s economy to $29 trillion by 2050.
He restated Nigeria’s readiness to spearhead the AfCFTA and take advantage of the market potential of the sector for digital transformation and economic integration of the African continent.
This is just as the President of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Børge Brende, pointed out the transformative potential of AfCFTA, projecting that its full implementation could boost Africa’s economy to $29 trillion by 2050.
Shettima and global leaders declared their nations’ positions during a forum of Friends of AfCFTA on the sidelines of the ongoing 2025 yearly meeting of the WEF in Davos, Switzerland.
The Vice President, while addressing the forum tagged, “Forum Friends of AfCFTA: Turning Digital Trade into a Catalyst for Growth in Africa,” reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to AfCFTA as a vehicle for shared prosperity.
According to Shettima, Africa stands in a unique position to take advantage of global talent deficits, citing a Korn Ferry study that projects a global human talent shortage of more than 85 million people by 2030.
“By 2050, Nigeria’s population will surpass that of the United States, becoming the third most populous nation on earth at 440 million people,” he stated.
Citing Africa’s growing digital landscape, Shettima said Nigeria’s technological strength was propelling it into the knowledge age.
“Today, we have 220 million telecoms subscribers and 163 million internet users in Nigeria alone. This provides us with immense opportunities to empower our people. While our highest oil export earnings were $35 billion in 2011; India, last year, earned about $120 billion from outsourcing alone.
“The African Continental Free Trade Area is not only an economic arrangement but a bold statement of our shared destiny,” Shettima stated, adding that while Africa might have missed the agricultural and industrial ages, it was positioned to thrive in the post-industrial knowledge age.”
In his remarks, the WEF President, Brende, while welcoming Shettima and other African leaders to the “Forum of Friends of AfCFTA,” said Africa’s demographic advantage presented huge economic opportunities for the continent.
He noted that while most nations face workforce challenges, Africa’s young population positions it for unprecedented growth.
