Africa is home to 1.38 billion people, more than one-seventh of the world’s population. From a foreign trade perspective, it is an enormous market—one whose potential large global economies are beginning to fully appreciate.

For example, in the United States, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged the Biden Administration to “make Africa engagement a presidential priority…[and] enhance the competitiveness of U.S. business in Africa.” The organization endorses free trade agreement negotiations with Kenya and “capacity building to support a trade agenda in the African Continental Free Trade Area.”¹