President of the Moeti Practicum Institute of Botswana Dr Nkisang Moeti said on Friday that the ideal of a "thriving Africa", should not depend on externalised systems as has been the case, but on the development of sustainable intra-continental trade.

She was addressing a webinar on opportunities and challenges in implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), organised by the Africa Institute of South Africa of the Human Sciences Research Council, and the Tshwane University of Technology’s Institute for Economic Research on Innovation.

The AfCFTA is important for Africa, as the continent currently relies heavily on primary production, making it vulnerable to numerous external shocks that affect human wellbeing.

Currently most of the revenues to run African countries depend on externalised economies, she said and added that the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the continent’s vulnerability owing to restrictions in place during lockdown, such as cross border blockages.

She said the AfCFTA market was growing at a fast pace with consumer numbers expected to increase and predicted that African online services business growth will reach about $75-billion by 2025.

On food production, she said there was an opportunity for a livestock value chain on the continent.

She added that the continent had to provide for some of its critical needs such as malaria and HIV/Aids.

The continent has resources in abundance, she noted, and said the minerals sector offered interesting intra-Africa trading possibilities.