Continental manufacturers are forming an association, African Manufacturers’ Association (AMA) which is expected to be on stream latest end of 2019.
The President of the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr Mansur Ahmed, is appointed the Interim Chairman of the Committee to evolve the AMA.
The announcement was made by the Commissioner of Trade, African Union Commission (AUC), Albert Muchanga, at the just-concluded Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) held in Cairo, Egypt.
The role of the Interim Chairman of the committee is to supervise the process of working out the modalities of the Association, in conjunction with other members, including drafting its Articles of Association for the body in preparation for its inauguration in 2019.
In addition, the Director-General of the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria, Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir, and the Head of the Kenyan Association of Manufacturers’ Consulting, Joyce Njogu, were also appointed as joint interim Secretaries to drive the process.
In accepting the role, Ahmed stated that he and other members of his committee will commence work on engaging all the manufacturers associations across Africa to midwife the birth of the Pan-African body.
“Now is the time for the Private Sector to come together to tackle the challenges that hinder intra-African trade.
“The platform of the Association will enable manufacturers in Africa to engage, know and work with each other better, which will bring about inclusive growth in Africa,” he said.
The African Union Commissioner, Muchanger, while inaugurating the interim council, noted that establishing the Association was a direct fallout of the initiative of the African Union to promote and deepen Intra-African Trade in goods and services.
“The Association becomes very necessary as the vision of African countries towards intra-African trade must be fully and effectively implemented with the cooperation of individual African countries, particularly their Private Sector,” he said.
The official inauguration of the AMA is expected to hold before or during the African Industrialisation Day in November 2019.