This is the official profile of the AFRICAN CHAMBER for TRADE a grouping of enterprises, domiciled in Africa, that are engaged in commercial activity. ACT serves as a chamber of commerce and industry for enterprises within the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA. It aims at providing a platform for enterprises in Africa to network with each other and forge both intra-country and cross-border business relationships for the purpose of trade and investment and for them to build business capacity and competitiveness through knowledge of international best practice and business practices that have shown empirical proof of success within the peculiarities of the African business enterprise. The ACT has been established primarily with a view to enabling enterprises in Africa adapt to and fully exploit the emergent new pan continental business operating environment and opportunities created by the commencement of the AfCFTA.

WHAT ACT IS

ACT is duly registered across several African countries that are members of AfCFTA. The founding countries are Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya and Liberia. The continental headquarters is located in Accra, Ghana, since that city is host to the AfCFTA secretariat. It is our intention that ACT will exist and be operated in every country that is a member of AfCFTA.

Each country’s chapter will be semi-autonomous and managed by its own officials according to best corporate governance principles. Each chapter will have its own membership comprising enterprises and institutions domiciled in that country. However, membership in a particular country automatically confers membership of the pan continental ACT and entitles one to the benefits of ACT membership while in any member country. Nevertheless, multinationals with subsidiaries in more than one African country are expected to join in each such country through its subsidiaries in each country. IBC thus provides a platform for the creation of trade and investment relationships among its members all around the continent, which is a prerequisite for the successful implementation of AfCFTA.