Trade across Africa has never been a simple act of buying and selling. It lives in border towns where paperwork outweighs products, in markets where ambition travels faster than infrastructure, and in enterprises whose reach is limited not by ideas but by access. Between promise and practice sits a wide space where policy often speaks one language and entrepreneurs live another. This space has long shaped the continent’s economic rhythm, determining who scales, who stalls, and who remains invisible despite driving employment, production, and survival economies across borders.
It is within this space that Warmate Jones IDIKIO stepped forward, founding the AfCFTA Roundtable to close the distance between continental ambition and everyday enterprise. Drawing from years of legal practice, policy advocacy, and direct engagement with small and medium businesses, Warmate recognised that Africa’s largest trade agreement would only succeed if it became intelligible, practical, and usable for those expected to power it.
The Origins of an Enterprise-Led Vision
Warmate’s conviction that Africa’s growth must be driven by enterprise-led policy was shaped long before continental trade became a central focus of his work. His professional journey began over three decades ago as an attorney in a law firm specialising in Maritime Law. That early exposure to trade-related legal frameworks laid the foundation for his understanding of commerce beyond borders.
Even earlier, a year of National Service proved transformational. During this period, Warmate encountered informal cross-border trade on a scale that revealed the true economic force of small and medium enterprises across Africa. What stood out was not only the volume of activity but the absence of regulation, coordination, and strategic policy to harness the wealth being generated.
This pattern repeated itself across African borders. Commercial spaces flourished informally, yet policy structures lagged behind. Later, his appointment as Director General of the Yenagoa Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, provided the platform to translate observation into advocacy. Representing SMEs at the subnational level, Warmate became deeply involved in strategic stakeholder engagements that contributed to Nigeria’s national response and eventual decision to sign the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, a defining turning point in his continental trade leadership journey.
These convictions did not remain confined to institutions. On November 11, 2023, Warmate took them directly into the public arena by running for the office of Governor of Bayelsa State, Nigeria, seeking to advance the enterprise-led development agenda he had long championed.
Grounding AfCFTA in the Real Economy
Warmate founded the AfCFTA Roundtable at a time when confusion and scepticism surrounded the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, particularly among small businesses. His decision was informed by firsthand experience during nationwide stakeholder consultations held by the Nigerian government ahead of signing the agreement.
Throughout these engagements, Warmate observed recurring misconceptions about AfCFTA. Many SMEs feared increased competition and potential loss of business, yet few understood the broader benefits of value addition, industrialisation, and expanded market access. A lack of credible cost-benefit analysis had created space for misinformation, threatening to slow implementation not only in Nigeria but across the continent.
The AfCFTA Roundtable was established to address these gaps directly. Its objective was to contextualise AfCFTA for SMEs that operate largely in the informal sector, yet account for up to 80 percent of employment in many African economies and contribute significantly to GDP. Over time, the initiative evolved into a voluntary network of 107 members from diverse professional backgrounds across Africa, united by a shared commitment to inclusive continental trade. Today, the Roundtable engages at local, national, regional, continental, and international levels.
Designing the Infrastructure of Inclusion
For Warmate, effective policy implementation begins with engagement at the grassroots. Interactions with local entrepreneurs and SMEs consistently produce two critical outcomes. First, they enable a clearer understanding of complex trade and policy frameworks. Second, they generate feedback essential for monitoring, evaluation, and policy refinement.
The AfCFTA Roundtable actively seeks platforms for dialogue with SMEs across Africa. Since 2023, it has also been involved in mentoring students and early-stage entrepreneurs, simplifying the policy, legal, and trade dimensions of AfCFTA into practical knowledge.
One of the Roundtable’s most significant initiatives is the proposal for an Export Development Hub involving four subnational governments in Nigeria, collectively referred to as the BAAR States: Bayelsa, Abia, Akwa-Ibom, and Rivers. Warmate led the development of a draft agreement outlining the structure and implementation of the hub, with projected impact on more than one million entrepreneurs and SMEs engaged in manufacturing, agriculture, value addition, and services.
This initiative reflects a deliberate strategy to influence trade policy from the ground up, scaling AfCFTA provisions region by region and country by country. For Warmate, sustainable continental integration is not achieved through policy alone, but through practical structures that empower enterprises where economic activity truly begins.
Scaling Across Borders
Drawing from more than a decade of hands-on work with small and medium enterprises, Warmate identifies mobility as one of the most paradoxical barriers to intra-African business expansion. While the Africa Continental Free Trade Area was designed to promote a single market, the free movement of people remains heavily constrained.
Separate and often burdensome visa requirements across African countries continue to restrict the ability of entrepreneurs to move, negotiate, and expand operations across borders. The prevailing justification offered by governments is the potential loss of revenue. However, Warmate notes that this short-term concern undermines the long-term economic benefits of seamless continental trade.
Beyond mobility, the free movement of goods is also obstructed by non-tariff barriers at border points. These include undocumented charges, prolonged clearance delays, and excessive procedural requirements that increase costs and discourage cross-border commerce.
Warmate points to consistent advocacy by Business Membership Organizations and Civil Society Organizations as a catalyst for progress. Several African countries have begun implementing visa-on-arrival policies for African nationals. However, he stresses that removing non-tariff barriers requires more than policy statements. Governments must demonstrate political commitment by actively monitoring border officials and imposing sanctions on those who violate trade protocols. Such action, he argues, would send a powerful signal of genuine intent to implement continental trade agreements.
Law as an Enabler of Continental Trade Integration
In his role as Vice President for Legal and Compliance at the All-Africa Association for Small and Medium Enterprises, Warmate views legal frameworks as foundational to private sector growth. Where such frameworks exist and are properly implemented, trade flourishes. Where they are absent or poorly enforced, growth is stifled.
He describes the Africa Continental Free Trade Area as one of the most important legal instruments for Africa’s economic integration. The agreement provides a coordinated regulatory structure aimed at lowering trade costs, expanding markets, and encouraging cross-border investment.
Central to this framework are rules of origin and the phased elimination of tariffs. Warmate explains that rules of origin define which products qualify for tariff preferences within Africa, based on whether goods are wholly obtained or substantially transformed on the continent. When correctly implemented, these rules incentivise regional manufacturing and value addition, reinforcing AfCFTA’s broader industrialisation objectives.
By harmonising trade rules and reducing uncertainty, legal frameworks such as AfCFTA create conditions for increased intra-African trade and sustained private sector expansion.
Subnational Leadership as a Catalyst for Investment
Warmate’s role as Chairman of BayelsaPRIME places him at the convergence of public sector leadership and private investment strategy. He believes that investment flows to environments where opportunity is clearly defined and governance is predictable.
The BayelsaPRIME programme, he explains, was designed around a principle of structured preparation. Rather than relying on chance, the initiative focuses on building layered systems that progressively strengthen the investment ecosystem.
From his experience, Warmate outlines several key priorities for subnational governments. First, state actors must consistently assess their competitive positioning in relation to other regions competing for the same investors. Second, policy decisions should be guided by both economic value and social cohesion, ensuring strong vertical and horizontal linkages across industries.
He describes the concept of “layering” as the strategic organisation of opportunity-related information, data, policy frameworks, and measurable outcomes. This approach relies on continuous evaluation and deliberately integrates private sector input into decision-making processes.
Such environments, Warmate notes, generate strong linkages for local enterprises, particularly in value-added sectors. The result is industrial growth, economic diversification, and sustained expansion at the subnational level.
The Anatomy of Partnerships That Create Lasting Impact
Warmate believes that truly effective partnerships begin with clarity of purpose. In his words, partnership represents the intersection of divergent interests woven into a single fabric defined by a shared objective. Across national and international development platforms, he has seen partnerships serve as powerful vehicles for sustainable economic impact when they are structured with intention rather than convenience.
From his experience, effective partnerships must be rooted in clearly articulated, policy-driven visions that define measurable outcomes. Without this foundation, collaboration risks becoming symbolic rather than transformational. Equally important is a shared commitment among partners. When all parties align around common goals, dedication becomes unwavering and outcomes more achievable.
Warmate also stresses the importance of clearly defined processes for resource planning, mobilisation, and allocation. Active participation by all partners across these stages strengthens ownership and accountability. Transparency, open communication, and mutual accountability are essential, particularly when challenges arise. Too often, he observes, partnerships falter when blame replaces collaboration. Shared responsibility in addressing setbacks, rather than fault-finding, is what sustains long-term impact.
Education as the Backbone of Africa’s AfCFTA Readiness
With Africa’s population exceeding 1.5 billion and a median age of just over 19 years, Warmate sees education and skills development as central to the continent’s economic future. He situates AfCFTA within the broader vision of the African Economic Community, established under the Abuja Treaty, which aims to foster self-reliant and integrated development across the continent.
For Warmate, Africa’s youthful demographics present both opportunity and urgency. To fully leverage AfCFTA, education systems must be recalibrated to align with future economic realities shaped by technology, industrialisation, and innovation. He argues that Africa must prioritise skills over credentials, embedding practical, industry-relevant competencies into the learning process.
National and subnational governments, he adds, must restructure science and technical education policies with clear medium- and long-term outcomes. Industrialisation, in his view, will only be possible through education that produces technologically capable, industry-ready young people. The content and context of Africa’s education systems must reflect this imperative.
Reframing Africa’s Trade Narrative on the Global Stage
Warmate approaches Africa’s global trade perception through data rather than sentiment. He notes that the continent’s trade profile remains heavily concentrated in extracted resources, particularly fuels, mining products, and agricultural commodities. Price volatility in these sectors has left many African economies vulnerable, contributing to rising food import bills, limited industrial capacity, and constrained growth.
He advocates for a deliberate shift in narrative. Africa must increasingly present itself as a destination for value-added production rather than a source of raw materials. This transition requires strong institutions, long-term leadership vision, and sustained private sector investment in manufacturing and processing.
Warmate also highlights the rapid emergence of Africa’s knowledge economy. However, he cautions that research and development must be strategically deployed to support industrial growth. Harnessing knowledge effectively, he argues, is essential to reposition Africa as a credible, long-term trade partner in the global economy.
Aligning Trade Ambition with SME Reality
AfCFTA projections point to a continental market of 1.7 billion people by 2030, with a rapidly expanding middle class and trillions of dollars in potential trade and investment. Yet Warmate asks a critical question. How can these ambitions translate into tangible benefits for Africa’s nearly 100 million small and medium enterprises.
He identifies access to finance as a foundational challenge. Many SMEs remain informal and small because they lack the capital needed to scale. Traditional financial institutions often view them as high-risk. Warmate advocates for subnational SME Trust Funds focused on value addition and exports, offering grants, loans, and credit guarantees. He also calls for stronger institutional support for cooperative societies.
Cross-border payments present another barrier. Multiple currency regimes complicate transactions, despite initiatives like the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System developed by Afreximbank. While PAPSS offers a pathway to local currency settlements, Warmate notes that governments remain cautious due to infrastructural and currency risks. He recommends partnerships with fintech firms and currency-hedging mechanisms to make local currency trade more viable.
Market access remains constrained by weak infrastructure, restrictive visa regimes, and inconsistent regulatory environments. Warmate points to the African Union Protocol on Free Movement of Persons as a critical instrument that must be domesticated into national law. Dedicated institutions, he argues, are needed to implement these policies efficiently and encourage cross-border investment.
The Economics of Plain Language
Warmate consistently emphasises the importance of simplifying policy language. For many SMEs, trade regulations are inaccessible, written in complex legal terms that alienate rather than empower. This gap breeds misunderstanding, distrust, and disengagement from formal economic systems.
Simplification, he explains, is not cosmetic. It is a structural intervention that enables comprehension, builds trust, and encourages participation. When businesses understand policy, they engage more actively. Engagement creates linkages, which in turn strengthen firm-level capacity, domestic sourcing, and value addition.
As domestic value-added ratios increase, firms become better positioned to participate in global value chains. Simplified policy communication, Warmate argues, is therefore a direct pathway to inclusive growth and export readiness.
Defining AfCFTA Success for the Everyday Entrepreneur
From Warmate’s perspective, success under AfCFTA is measured not in treaties or projections, but in the lived experience of everyday entrepreneurs. They understand the promise of a single African market, freer movement, expanded access, and increased income. What they seek is implementation that matches intent.
For them, success means frictionless access to markets, elimination of non-tariff barriers, simplified customs documentation, affordable transport, reliable infrastructure, and accessible finance. These are the practical outcomes that determine whether AfCFTA delivers real value.
Warmate sees leadership as a bridge between policy ambition and entrepreneurial reality. His role, as he defines it, is to translate AfCFTA into actionable knowledge, convene meaningful policy dialogue, provide market intelligence, interpret trade rules clearly, and advocate relentlessly for improved access to finance.
In doing so, he believes leaders can help shape an AfCFTA environment where opportunity is not theoretical, but tangible, inclusive, and sustainable across the continent.
