{
  "id": 3886298,
  "title": "Why Africa’s ‘one certificate’ agenda could unlock African Continental Free Trade Area for millions of businesses",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/why-africas-one-certificate-agenda-could-unlock-african-continental",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-28T04:07:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "People Daily Kenya",
    "slug": "people-daily-kenya",
    "url": "https://peopledaily.digital/insights/why-africas-one-certificate-agenda-could-unlock-african-continental-free-trade-area-for-millions-of-businesses"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aims to create a unified market across the continent, but its success hinges on overcoming challenges related to product certification. To facilitate intra-African trade, the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) has introduced the 'One Certificate' agenda during the 32nd ARSO General Assembly in Mombasa, August 24-28, 2026. This proposal seeks to reduce repetitive conformity assessment requirements, making it easier for products tested and certified in one African country to be recognized in others. This could significantly benefit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as the costs of repeated testing, inspections, and compliance procedures can be prohibitive for them. The issue, however, extends beyond mere paperwork, as harmonized standards can either act as a bridge to continental trade or an obstacle to African businesses and consumers. If successful, the 'One Certificate' agenda could strengthen African value chains, making it easier for businesses to collaborate across borders and align with the broader AfCFTA project of integrating fragmented national markets into a more cohesive trading system. However, implementation faces hurdles such as the need for capable national standards bodies, compatible technical requirements, reliable testing laboratories, and strong enforcement mechanisms. These factors ensure that a certificate issued in one country is trustworthy and accepted in another, thereby fostering mutual recognition and trust among African regulators. The appointment of Felix Koskei, a Kenyan public servant, as an ARSO Goodwill Ambassador underscores the political dimension of this challenge, emphasizing the need to translate policy discussions into practical trade facilitation measures. Ultimately, the success of AfCFTA will be gauged by how smoothly products can cross borders, rather than merely by the size of the market on paper.",
  "summary": "Africa’s free-trade ambition has never been short of scale. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is designed to create a single continental market, but the real test is whether an African business can actually move a product from one country to another without repeatedly facing different standards, inspections and certification requirements. That is why […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}