Index launched to measure Africa’s regional integration smartly

The African Development Week 2016 on Saturday took a bold step towards data-driven integration by launching the African Regional Integration Index.  The initiative is spearheaded by the Economic Commission for Africa and is aimed at ensuring that regional integration policy is targeted and informed by real gaps unique to each region. Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist at the Commission, Abdalla Hamdok, explained that the purpose of the tool is to source and present reliable and credible data that allows for an assessment of the progress in regional integration across five pillars within the member countries of the commission.

According to Hamdok, “Africa’s integration journey towards a more connected, competitive and business-friendly continent is underway and its roadmap is, in some areas, under construction. Africa’s Regional Integration Index is an action tool measuring the progress of an Africa on the move.”

The five pillars of the index measure integration in trade, in regional infrastructure, productive integration, the free movement of people, and the extent of financial and macroeconomic integration.