Africa’s economic prospects are looking brighter following the adoption and ratification of a free-trade accord by most of the continent’s 55 nations.

Annual exports from Africa could jump to $952 billion by 2035, from $645 billion currently, and the free-trade agreement has the potential to boost that number by 29% once fully implemented, according to Standard Chartered’s newly published Future of Trade: Africa report.

Within the continent, flows are expected to reach $140 billion, which equates to 15% of total regional exports, the lender said. Trade within East Africa is set to grow by 15.1% and within West Africa by 13.2%, well in excess of the 4.2% global average, it said.

[Now if they could just get themselves over all the graft, corruption, internecine warfare, and tendency toward coups when they lose elections, things would really look up for them. ~ Beege]