At the 2025 Annual Meeting of African Special Economic Zones, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Clever Gatete, urged African countries to align their Special Economic Zone (SEZ) strategies with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). He emphasized that such alignment is crucial for transforming SEZs into true industrial hubs that support regional value chains, create jobs, and increase intra-African trade.
Gatete highlighted that modern investors seek credibility, efficiency, sustainability, and skilled labor, not just incentives. Therefore, African SEZs must evolve from isolated industrial sites into integrated ecosystems of innovation and transformation.
He stressed that Africa should stop exporting raw materials and reimporting finished goods, and instead produce, assemble, and innovate locally. Integrated SEZ strategies, he argued, could turn fragmented markets into continental production corridors, strengthening the “Made in Africa” brand.
To support this vision, the ECA is completing a continental study on standards for successful SEZs, conducted with Afreximbank, AUDA-NEPAD, and African member states. The study draws on global best practices and includes a pan-African survey carried out with the African Economic Zones Organisation.
Gatete also called for improvements in governance, regulatory simplification, and infrastructure, along with investment in Africa’s population—its greatest competitive advantage—by building skills, digital capacity, and innovation capabilities to support future industries.
