African trade and standards experts concluded a four-day meeting in Kigali on Friday with agreements on 26 new continental standards for textiles and leather products, in a push to remove the non-tariff barriers that continue to slow the movement of goods across African borders.
The African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) Technical Committee (TC 53) on textiles, which ran from 3 to 6 March 2026, brought together representatives from 15 African countries to finalise benchmarks for textile, leather, and related products designed to boost intra-African trade and increase consumption of locally made goods.
ARSO Secretary-General Hermogene Nsengimana told delegates that the continent remains far behind where it needs to be on quality standards. Only about 25 percent of the standards required for all products traded within the African common market have been established, he said, and the organisation has set a target to close that gap substantially within the next four to five years.
The Kigali meeting concluded with a significant diplomatic outcome. Rwanda signed Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) with the Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe, enabling easier cross-border recognition of quality certifications and trade approvals among the three countries. The signing also marked the first time ARSO awarded agro-processing sector certifications on the continent, with 32 Rwandan Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) receiving certificates covering 72 food and agricultural products.
Under ARSO’s coordination, Rwanda is among six countries piloting the MRA framework, which is built around the principle of “One Standard, One Test, One Certificate Accepted Everywhere,” a mechanism designed to fast-track implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and ease cross-border commerce.
The stakes are significant. Africa’s textile market is projected to grow from $39.21 billion in 2025 to $49.41 billion by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 4.7 percent. Without harmonised standards, that growth risks being fragmented and uncompetitive, with producers in different countries unable to easily certify their goods for sale across borders.
Ghana is among the African nations actively engaged in the continental standards agenda. The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has been contributing to regional and continental standardisation through the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), ARSO, and AfCFTA structures, positioning standards as instruments that translate Africa’s industrial and trade ambitions into practical, enforceable outcomes.
The 26 new standards agreed in Kigali add to the 1,044 standards already validated under the AfCFTA protocol, bringing Africa incrementally closer to the integrated common market that the agreement promises but has so far only partially delivered.
