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This article was produced with the support of Afreximbank
Its wider vision under the Afreximbank umbrella is to “increase Africa’s share of global trade and prosperity through capacity-building and networking initiatives”.
While the AfCFTA has opened up a massive regional market and almost limitless opportunities for trade, there is a marked dearth of modern professional business skills and capacity across the continent.
The AFRACAD is a valuable and very timely step towards reducing this shortage and laying the foundations for a substantial corps of African business leaders steeped in all aspects of the often-complicated processes involved in domestic and international trade.
The academy’s target is to train up to 100,000 people over 10 years. Through a range of specialised programmes, the academy equips trade-actors across Africa and its diaspora with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to navigate the complexities of international trade and finance.
It provides accessible and high-quality learning to stakeholders from diverse backgrounds. Comprehensive training in 58 different courses ranging from trade finance to export development, risk management to project finance, leadership to business language, innovation to planning, address the evolving needs of African and African-diaspora economies.
At launch, the academy offered scholarships covering 50% of the tuition fees for the 2023 Certificate of Trade Finance in Africa (COTFIA).
In 2023, AFRACAD’s How to Export with AfCFTA free online course, run in collaboration with partner educators, attracted around 9,000 participants.
The academy has set into motion the process of obtaining regional accreditation, starting with the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), while exploring and reaching out to other accrediting bodies.
The academy has also started implementing a proof of concept using the COTFIA programme, a flagship trade finance course that is one of the most comprehensive in Africa, which AFRACAD runs with FCI and the American University in Cairo.
