Introduction: Understanding Africa’s Regional Trade

Africa has registered growth rates of more than 5% annually over the past decade (2004–2014), with a third of African countries averaging 6.5% growth per year (African Development Bank et al., 2014). This current growth pattern has brought Africa to a turning point, if not a tipping point, in its development trajectory. A more globalized world economy has brought increasing functional and spatial specialization, as well as growing interdependence, and vulnerability of national economies to external shocks. Meanwhile, a process of de-industrialization in the developed world has been paralleled by an increasing competitiveness of developing countries in manufacturing. The changing structure of the global economy requires Africa to integrate in order to survive. Translating economic gains into sustainable and shared growth requires Africa to connect its markets, deepen Regional Integration (RI) and enhance national competitiveness (World Economic Forum et al., 2013). Embedding RI into Africa’s development agenda, whether in the form of preferential trading area or economic and monetary union, will move African economies to the next stage of competitiveness and integration in the global economy as befits the continent’s rise.