Integrating Africa is a vast project that will involve many stakeholders at the local, national, regional and international level. It will take seasoned stakeholder management and strategic communications to implement this ambitious vision.

Economic integration in Africa is vital to unlock Africa’s potential to “exploit economies of scale, attract investment and facilitate value addition.” Integrating Africa is one of the African Development Bank’s High 5 for transforming Africa and a flagship project of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 — an ambitious set of development goals outlined to transform the lives of Africans and aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Both agendas list out key drivers for regional integration — Africa’s rising middle class, growing youth population, industrialization and a few other points. What is striking in its omission however, is the role that strategic communication plays in facilitating African integration.

Firstly, the sheer magnitude of stakeholder management and engagement involved in African integration begs the question where is the strategy to communicate and inspire the decision makers, private sector, civil society, academics and man on the street who will live this reality.

Secondly, one of the biggest challenges to regional integration in Africa is the overlapping mandate of integration blocs. Africa has 16 trade zones, each of which has bilateral relations with global trading blocs.

There needs to be buy in from all these stakeholders into the integration agenda.

Who will force the hands of African governments?

Forty-four countries have signed the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement but the lack of political will to implement the terms of the agreement and slow progress in eliminating barriers to trade will continue to dog attempts at regional integration. Nigeria did not sign the treaty with President Buhari citing the need for further consultation with stakeholders.

Signing the AfCFTA is one thing, implementing it is another — African governments and institutions will need all stakeholders informed, engaged and active if Africa is to move towards greater regional integration. And this is where communications professionals have a strategic role to play.