African economies have been resilient and gaining momentum. Real output growth is estimated to have increased by 3.6 per cent in 2017 and is poised to accelerate to 4.1 per cent in 2018 and 2019. Overall, the recovery of growth has been faster than envisaged, especially among non-resource-intensive economies. African governments are more than ever determined to accelerate the gains that have been achieved through the implementation of targeted initiatives. The latest one of these initiatives is the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which was launched in March 2018 in Kigali with the free trading regime envisaged to create a market of 1.3 billion consumers, and a GDP of US$3 trillion, and a building block towards the envisaged creation of the African Economic Community (AEC) in 2028. Since the launch the AfCFTA in March, signatures to the agreement had risen to 49 by June 2018.