AU Trade Commissioner rallies African businesses

Ambassador Albert Muchanga, the African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry, has urged businesses in Ghana and Africa to get authenticated by Kadodo Africa.

Kadodo is an online directory of authenticated and businesses designed to connect businesses and consumers in Africa.

The platform has been set up to enable African businesses optimize the opportunities created by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Ambassador Muchanga speaking in Accra at a Business forum said businesses that were authenticated and verified would benefit from the gains of visibility and attraction on a competitive landscape.

According to him, the platform which profiles and authenticates businesses gives the assurance that African businesses were ready to transact in an atmosphere of trust and mutual gain.

“Listing on Kadodo implies positions a business as a market player that meets all the conditions for fair competition,” Mr Muchanga added.

He has, therefore, charged African business leaders to “seize the moment…thrive and add value to [their] business.”

Although yet to be formally launched, the platform is live and many businesses in Ghana and other countries have begun signing up. Kadodo Africa Team Lead, Mr Tsonam Cleanse Akpeloo believed that the platform would help quicken the pace of growth of intraAfrican trade as envisaged by the African leaders who created the free trade area.

According to him, “Trading on the continent is hectic. Apart from the major policy issues such as currency differentials, tariffs and barriers at the borders, many Africans do not even know about the businesses and products that exist in various countries.”

He was confident that the Kadodo platform would serve as a one-stop information portal for Africans seeking to do business with entities on the continent.

The AfCFTA is a free trade area with the highest number of participating countries and covers a market of 1.3 billion people with an aggregated GDP of nearly USD 3 trillion.