AfCFTA and the Upcoming Protocol on Investment: What Can Investors Expect?

Théobald Naud, Maxime Desplats and Ophélie Divoy , DLA Piper

In 2012, African states set out with the ambition to establish an unprecedented ‘Continental Free Trade Area’.  Negotiations were launched under the aegis of the African Union with the primary objective of ‘boosting intra-Africa trade’. The agreement would give rise to the creation of an impressive single market for goods and services of 1.2 billion people with a combined GDP of more than US$2.2 trillion. The ongoing discussions between Member States on the Investment Protocol have not been made public. However, investors will look to recent developments in the field of investment protection, in particular on the African continent, for an indication of what to expect.