This session’s discussion on the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), now in its seventh year, will evaluate its progress and challenges. Participants will examine how far the agreement has advanced Africa’s goal of deeper trade and economic integration. They will also explore ways to strengthen regional cooperation, improve policy alignment, and unlock the benefits of intra-African trade.
The session will close with practical recommendations for enhancing AfCFTA’s implementation and ensuring it delivers meaningful gains for citizens and businesses.
The session, chaired by Professor Ernest Kofi Abotsi, will feature contributions from Liberty Mshindi Shiava, Joseph Mungai, Almeida Machava, and Foluke Akinmoladun, all bringing diverse regional perspectives to the discussion on AfCFTA’s progress, challenges, and future direction.
Prof Ernest Kofi Abotsi
Professor Ernest Kofi Abotsi is a Ghanaian lawyer, Managing Partner of Axis Legal Solicitors and an Associate Professor of law. He has held multiple deanship positions in leading law schools in Ghana. A public intellectual, Dean Abotsi is a member of the Ghanaian Bar Association (GBA), a Lifetime Member of the Governing Council of the Africa Bar Association, a member of the International Bar Association (IBA) and the Chairman of the Corporate & Commercial Committee of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA). He has published extensively on constitutional law, international trade law, international environmental law, corporations’ law and human rights law.
Prof. Abotsi has served and continues to serve on corporate boards and advisory councils of local and multinational corporations and continues to play pivotal roles in shaping the policy directions of 49 corporate entities in Ghana.
He is currently the chairman of the advisory board of the Chief Executives Network of Ghana, (a body comprising the CEOs of some of the largest and notable corporations in Ghana).
Liberty Mshindi Shiava
Liberty Mshindi is a third-year law student at Kabarak University, pursuing interests in International Trade and Investment Law. As an early career researcher, he focuses on African economic integration and dispute resolution mechanisms, particularly within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Currently serving as a student editor for Volume 5 of the East Africa Law Society Human Rights and Rule of Law Journal, he contributes to advancing legal scholarship on human rights and governance in the region. Passionate about strengthening intra-African legal frameworks, he aims to bridge the academic research with practical policy implementation.
Almeida Machava
He is a Mozambican citizen, Research Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law at University of Macau. He was formerly Deputy Dean for Research and Postgraduate Programmes at Faculty of Law, University Eduardo Mondlane Mozambique. Mr Machava obtained his PhD in Law (Economic Juridical Sciences) and Master of International Business Law both at University of Macau, and his Bachelor of Law at University Eduardo Mondlane. His research interest is in international economic relations, with particular emphasis on the relations between China and Africa (African Portuguese-speaking countries), African Economic and Regional Integration, and Commercial Law.
Mr Machava has taught Business Law, Consumer Law, Extrajudicial Disputes Resolution, Law and Development, Investment Law, Human Rights and Environmental Protection, International Economic Law, Law of International Organizations, Comparative Law and Energy Law.
Foluke Akinmoladun
Foluke Akinmoladun is a distinguished legal practitioner, accountant, mediator, arbitrator, whose professional experience spans domestic and international commercial law. With additional qualifications as a Chartered Secretary and a Business Rescue and Insolvency Practitioner (through BRIPAN and INSOL), Foluke has contributed extensively to legal scholarship through numerous articles, book chapters, and journals. She served as Director General of the African Shipowners Association (Nigeria) and was a member of Nigeria’s Presidential National Action Committee on the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Transportation Stream, where she co-led discussions on Nigeria’s implementation strategy in transport and logistics. She is currently the Chairperson of the Nigeria Forum of the African Bar Association.
