Accra: The Cross-Border Women Traders Association (CBWTA) has urged the government to urgently make Free Movement a reality to unlock the promise of the African Continental Free Trade (AfCFTA) of empowering grassroots commerce.
According to Ghana News Agency, members of the association have highlighted that despite decades of passionate discourse from African leaders about dismantling trade barriers and uniting the continent, the reality of free movement remains elusive for thousands of women whose livelihoods depend on moving goods across African borders.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, Mr. Oscar Akaba-Norvixoxo, National Coordinator of the CBWTA, emphasized that while the African Union's Free Movement Protocol and ECOWAS' Protocol on Free Movement of Persons exist on paper, their slow and fragmented implementation continues to strangle cross-border commerce. "Every delay at the border, every unnecessary inspection, and every demand for unofficial payment cuts into profits, wastes time, and undermines the dignity of hardworking traders," he noted.
Women constitute more than 60 percent of informal cross-border traders in West Africa. They transport fresh produce, textiles, and daily essentials, often trekking long distances under extreme heat, only to face lengthy queues, red tape, and sometimes harassment. For them, free movement is not an abstract policy but a critical factor that determines profit and loss, safety and risk, progress and stagnation.
Fully implementing free movement, Mr. Akaba-Norvixoxo said, would reduce delays, lower transaction costs, expand access to wider markets, protect perishable goods from spoilage, and create safer trading conditions by reducing exposure to corruption and abuse. The CBWTA is calling on the African Union, ECOWAS, and national governments to fast-track measures that make free movement a lived reality. "Including grassroots women traders in planning and monitoring will ensure that policies reflect actual conditions on the ground," he stressed.
A flagship initiative the Association is championing is the Women Traders Border ID Card, which will formally recognize registered women traders, streamline customs procedures, and reduce harassment. The card would also connect traders to digital tools, including e-trader registration, e-duty compliance systems, online market access, and e-finance services, to professionalize and scale up women-led cross-border businesses.
The CBWTA says it is ready to train members on their rights under free movement protocols, provide policymakers with data on trade barriers and harassment, partner in gender-sensitive border modernization projects, and roll out the Women Traders Border ID Card in partnership with border agencies. "Free movement in Africa is not just about trade - it is about dignity, opportunity, and economic justice," Mr. Akaba-Norvixoxo said. "AfCFTA and ECOWAS have laid the groundwork. Now governments must deliver - and support innovations like the Women Traders Border ID Card that put policies into practice. For the women who power Africa's markets, the time to act is now," he added.
