Africa signs automotive pact to build cross-border supply chains

Africa’s push for a joined-up automotive industry took a step forward this month. The AfCFTA Secretariat and the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 2 October 2026 in El Alamein, Egypt, alongside the inaugural Africa Automotive Investment Forum. 

The agreement sets out how the two bodies will cooperate on automotive Rules of Origin, trade facilitation, standards, capacity building, and supplier and value-chain development. At the same forum, the AfCFTA Secretary-General called for vehicle assembly to be linked more closely with African suppliers, and for regional supplier networks to be strengthened.

For West Africa, the direction is clear as parts, components and vehicles will increasingly move between African markets under shared rules, and the companies with established regional distribution will be best placed to benefit.

That is exactly the connection WAAS makes, as every May, international manufacturers meet the importers, distributors and market traders who supply Nigeria and its neighbours, with hosted buyers travelling in from across the region.