Challenges and Opportunities of Women and Youths Financial Inclusion in the Context of AfCFTA. Case Study of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Abstract

The agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was launched in 2018. A commendable level of commitment has been demonstrated by member states since signing the agreement. Women and youths occupy a critical place in the political economy of Africa, and the success of many continental initiatives such as the AfCFTA agreement is expected to be dependent on the extent to which the youths are mainstreamed in the financial-economic inclusion initiatives. This is largely because Africa is a youthful continent, with women and youth constituting over 60% and 50% respectively of the continent’s population. The current level of inclusion of women and youths in existing AfCFTA programmes does not reflect the expected contribution of this class of population. The main implication of these population classes is the potential job creation challenges on the continent, especially as the labour force is projected to reach about one billion by 2030. This paper, therefore, examined the challenges, opportunities and how women and youth involvement in the process could lead to their financial-economic inclusion and independence in Africa with a focus on the Sub-Saharan region leveraging on the AfCFTA programmes. The study is descriptive in nature. Available secondary data from reports issued by AU, AfCFTA and World Bank was extensively used for the study. A simple percentage method was used for analysing the secondary data in order to show the trend and status of financial inclusion. The findings of the study reflect on ways to improve regional and continental integration frameworks from youth and gender perspectives.