In 2020, the Ghana International Trade & Finance Conference (GITFIC) partnered the Association of Ghana Industries and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly. The Conference was organized at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra on the 27th and 28th of October. The President of Ghana was represented by the Senior Minister of Ghana Hon. Ing. Yaw Osafo-Maafo. The HIGHLIGHT of the Conference was when the Mayor of Accra Hon. Mohammed Adjei Sowah joined the Senior Minister of the Republic of Ghana and Industry giants to DECLARE ACCRA THE COMMERCIAL CAPITAL OF AFRICA. This was done by the virtue of Accra of HOSTING the Secretariat of the Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The Conference was dubbed the AfCFTA Edition. The Steering Committee saw a gap between Industry and the entire Continental Free Trade Area agenda. The issues of adequate information, knowledge and understanding of the Continental Free Trade was lacking not only in Ghana but the Continent at large.

The Business Committee were largely oblivious of how to take advantage, the media had no education hence passing on information to the general public lacked accuracy and content. These were some of the reasons we decided to assume that position and use our widely attended Conference to serve as the bridge. The success of the 2020 Conference was incomparable to the earlier ones including the Addis Ababa Conference in 2019. The Excitements on the faces of the Chief Executives and Managing Directors and Senior Associations who attended the Conference gave us a fulfilled impression of our efforts. The next line of action after the declaration of Accra as the Commercial Capital of Africa is to move the education to segmental round table mini conference across the other 15 regions of Ghana with strategic Speakers. We will then travel to all the Capital Cities of Ratified Countries to stamp the Authority of the declaration and extend the education on the Continental Free Trade Area. The Private Sector will drive the AfFCTA and we take pride in leading this charge.