The recent xenophobic attacks against African migrants and traders in South Africa are deeply troubling and deserve condemnation in the strongest terms.
Beyond their humanitarian and social consequences, these attacks pose a serious threat to the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area and the broader vision of African integration.
The AfCFTA is Africa’s most ambitious economic integration initiative. It seeks to create a single continental market of more than 1.3 billion people with a combined economic value exceeding US$3.4 trillion.
According to a 2020 World Bank report, effective implementation of AfCFTA could increase Africa’s income by US$450 billion and lift approximately 30 million people out of extreme poverty by 2035.
However, the success of AfCFTA depends not only on tariff reductions and trade liberalisation but also on the ability of Africans to move, work, trade, invest and establish businesses freely across the continent without fear of discrimination, hostility or violence.
Xenophobia fundamentally undermines the objectives of the AfCFTA Protocol on Trade in Services, which is intended to promote cross-border trade, facilitate the movement of professionals and entrepreneurs, and deepen economic cooperation among African states.
It is important to note that no continental market can function effectively when African nationals are treated as outsiders in fellow African countries.
Threat to trade
The recent tensions and attacks in South Africa therefore risk discouraging cross-border trade, weakening investor confidence, disrupting regional value chains and slowing the momentum towards continental integration.
The past few days have seen several African countries already cautioning their citizens living or working in South Africa, demonstrating the wider regional implications of these developments.
There is also the danger that xenophobic sentiments could spread across the continent or provoke retaliatory actions from other African countries.
Such a situation could potentially strain diplomatic relations, reduce labour mobility, disrupt trade corridors and weaken the single African market AfCFTA seeks to establish.
The economic stakes are simply too high for complacency. African Export-Import Bank estimates that intra-African trade reached approximately US$208 billion in 2024, and the AfCFTA is expected to increase trade flows in the coming years significantly.
Xenophobia, therefore, acts as an invisible trade barrier that threatens the progress towards African economic integration.
Call for collective action
African governments and the African Union must adopt a zero-tolerance approach towards xenophobic violence.
The AfCFTA Secretariat should also work closely with member states and relevant stakeholders to strengthen protections for cross-border traders, entrepreneurs, investors and service providers across the continent.
In addition, there is an urgent need for stronger public education campaigns to promote Pan-African solidarity and raise awareness of the AfCFTA's economic benefits.
African leaders must also avoid inflammatory rhetoric and ensure that fundamental issues such as unemployment and other socio-economic challenges are addressed without scapegoating fellow Africans.
Ultimately, Africa cannot achieve meaningful continental integration while Africans continue to feel unsafe in other African countries.
The realisation of a truly integrated African market requires more than open borders and trade agreements.
It requires solidarity, tolerance, mutual respect and the protection of Africans wherever they live and work on the continent.
The writer is an Advisor of AfCFTA Policy Network Group