The upcoming Manufacturing Indaba is proud to announce its close partnership with the Export Credit Insurance Corporation (ECIC). This year, Sindiso Ndlovu from ECIC, will be participating at this premium sectoral event in Johannesburg, to impart her extensive experience within the economic realm. Such insights will build much-awaited anticipation for this year’s upcoming symposium.

Established in 2001 under the Export Credit and Foreign Investments Insurance Act, 1957 (as amended), ECIC provides political and commercial risk insurance to South African exporters of capital goods and related services. ECIC is a self-sustained, state-owned national export credit agency and is a registered Financial Service Provider, regulated by the FSCA and Prudential Authority (FSP No: 30656). This revered entity is currently exempted in terms of FAIS Notice 78 of 2019.

Ndlovu is an Economist at ECIC, specialising in country risk analysis, risk pricing and insurance product development. She holds a Master’s Degree in Development Finance from the University of Stellenbosch (USB), and a Management Development Certificate from Wits Business School (WBS), amongst other qualifications. Ndlovu has over 13 years’ experience in the insurance industry, having previously worked as an Economic Researcher and contributes significantly to ECIC publications that identify trade and investment opportunities in Africa.

As a guest speaker of this distinguished conference, Ndlovu will delve into The Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement and its subsequent implications for African manufacturers, trade agreements, customs tariffs, exports, tax, etc. to create an African marketplace. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) was signed in 2018, among 54 African Union nations, in an endeavour to boost economic growth across the continent. The objective of the agreement is to develop a free trade region which currently includes 28 nations and plans to bring all 55 members together, subsequently connecting a market of over 1.2 billion people. 

The AfCFTA initiative aims to support both relatively established and emerging African economies. With that said, the AfCFTA holds considerable potential to push diversification and manufacturing in developing African nations. The agreement will enable emerging economies to benefit from a vast African market along with the accompanying economies of scale. Moreover, the agreement has accommodated economically struggling countries such as Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Djibouti by reducing tariffs, enabling these countries to participate and make their impression on the manufacturing sector.

The key objectives of AfCFTA are to enhance freedom, coordination, diversification and facilitation of business operations within Africa’s economic zones. Such an integration will further assist in establishing an amenable understanding between regional economic communities, thereby substituting competition with collaboration, consequently creating economic opportunities and stimulating growth.

Constituting a fundamental element of this year’s Manufacturing Indaba discussions is the AfCFTA’s considerable potential to transform Africa into the next big manufacturing hub, eliminating international reliance on Chinese manufacturing and fostering global economic competition. Anyone vested in or impacted by the manufacturing industry, be it directly or indirectly, will acquire substantial insight from attending this pertinent and thought-provoking dialogue.