Navigating Economic Inequalities Alongside African Digital Market Integration: The Role of the AfCFTA Competition Protocol
Authors: Sucker Franziska 
Published: February 2025

p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:
"AdvOTecfccdcf_I",sans-serif;mso-bidi-font-family:AdvOTecfccdcf_I"The global
rise of digital trade has shifted economic inequalities, narrowing gaps in some
regions while exacerbating disparities between Africa and more digitally
advanced areas. The massive dominance of Big Techs in digital markets has
concentrated economic bene/spanspan style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:
107%;font-family:AdvOTecfccdcf_I+fb;mso-bidi-font-family:AdvOTecfccdcf_I+fb"fi/spanspan style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"AdvOTecfccdcf_I",sans-serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:AdvOTecfccdcf_I"ts among a few large players, often bypassing
local African /spanspan style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:
AdvOTecfccdcf_I+fb;mso-bidi-font-family:AdvOTecfccdcf_I+fb"fi/spanspan style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"AdvOTecfccdcf_I",sans-serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:AdvOTecfccdcf_I"rms. The AfricanContinental Free
TradeArea (AfCFTA) aims to enhance intra-African trade to foster economic
growth with its newly adopted AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade focusing on
integrating African digital markets. However, without careful regulation, this integration
risks deepening existing disparities. Given that Big Techs/spanspan style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"AdvOTecfccdcf.I+20",sans-serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:"AdvOTecfccdcf\.I+20""’ /spanspan style="font-size:
10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"AdvOTecfccdcf_I",sans-serif;mso-bidi-font-family:
AdvOTecfccdcf_I"dominance is a key driver of these imbalances, I explore how
the AfCFTA/spanspan style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:
"AdvOTecfccdcf.I+20",sans-serif;mso-bidi-font-family:"AdvOTecfccdcf\.I+20""’/spanspan style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"AdvOTecfccdcf_I",sans-serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:AdvOTecfccdcf_I"s Competition Protocol can be leveraged
to navigate them. The Competition Protocol, with its multilayered approach to
competition regulation, o/spanspan style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;
font-family:AdvOTecfccdcf_I+fb;mso-bidi-font-family:AdvOTecfccdcf_I+fb"ff/spanspan style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"AdvOTecfccdcf_I",sans-serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:AdvOTecfccdcf_I"ers a framework for ensuring digital
trade fosters equitable economic development across Africa. It tackles anti-competitive
conduct in cases with a continental dimension, such as the abuse of economic dependence
by gatekeepers, mandates support for regional and national authorities through
technical assistance and capacity-building, and promotes cooperation and coordinated
enforcement between all three jurisdictional levels. While not a complete
solution, the Protocol represents a signi/spanspan style="font-size:10.0pt;
line-height:107%;font-family:AdvOTecfccdcf_I+fb;mso-bidi-font-family:AdvOTecfccdcf_I+fb"fi/spanspan style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"AdvOTecfccdcf_I",sans-serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:AdvOTecfccdcf_I"cant step toward ensuring Africa/spanspan style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"AdvOTecfccdcf.I+20",sans-serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:"AdvOTecfccdcf\.I+20""’/spanspan style="font-size:
10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"AdvOTecfccdcf_I",sans-serif;mso-bidi-font-family:
AdvOTecfccdcf_I"s digital market integration promotes equitable development./span
o:p/o:p