December 23, 2025
Alexander Maune (PhD, MSc, BCom & Dip. MA CIMA)
introduction
Launched in 2021, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is one of the world’s most ambitious economic integration initiatives, uniting 54 African countries under a single market with a population of more than 1.5 billion people. The potential to boost intra-African trade, boost industrialization and promote inclusive economic growth is enormous. But to fully exploit this potential, especially in a rapidly evolving global landscape shaped by artificial intelligence (AI), African businesses, governments and institutions need to strategically leverage competitive intelligence (CI) to strengthen their competitiveness at all levels.
Understanding competitive intelligence in the context of AfCFTA
Competitive intelligence is the process of gathering, analyzing, and leveraging information about competitors, market trends, and internal capabilities to make informed strategic decisions. Historical records reveal that intelligence agencies have played an important role in the history of nations. CI therefore evolved from developments in economics, marketing, military theory, information science, and strategic management. Intelligence issues are not foreign to Africa. CI in Africa has a long history that can be traced back to the way of life of our ancestors, but some of this history has been passed down through oral tradition and is therefore undocumented. The origins of intelligence in Africa go back to the construction of great monuments such as the pyramids of Egypt, the Great Zimbabwe, and the irrigation systems along the Nile. For example, the way Great Zimbabwe was built in three distinct architectural groups known as the Hills, the Valleys, and the Great Enclosure tells the whole story behind the intelligence of the people who built the monument. Many countries have traces of CI tied to their militaries, and Africa has also developed intelligence services during and after liberation wars.
In the context of the AfCFTA, CI will be an important tool for navigating newly liberalized markets, identifying cross-border opportunities, anticipating policy changes, and managing risks. In the AI era, CI systems are no longer limited to manual market research and static data. There is increasing reliance on machine learning algorithms, natural language processing, and big data analytics to provide real-time insights. African businesses can use AI-driven CI platforms to monitor trade flows, analyze competitor strategies, track customer preferences, and assess regulatory trends across member states.
Connecting CI to competitiveness
Competitiveness refers to the ability of a company, industry, or economy to provide products and services that meet international standards while maintaining or increasing market share. For African countries under the AfCFTA, competitiveness rests on two key pillars: strategic positioning and operational efficiency, both of which can be strengthened by robust CI systems.
strategic positioning
CI enables companies to make strategic decisions such as:
Select appropriate markets to enter under the AfCFTA’s tariff-free regime. Differentiate your products based on local consumer preferences. Arrange your supply chain to minimize costs and increase responsiveness.
Information from CI enables companies to anticipate changes in trade policy, consumer demand, and emerging technologies and act rather than react.
operational decision making
At the operational level, CI contributes to:
Optimize your pricing strategy based on real-time market data. Adjust production to seasonal and geographic demand patterns. Identify skill gaps and guide talent development.
Incorporating AI tools such as predictive analytics and robotic process automation (RPA) will further improve the agility and accuracy of these decisions, giving African businesses a competitive edge.
Why is CI important now?
AI-powered CI leverages machine learning, real-time data feeds, sentiment, and geospatial analysis to help African businesses.
Identify optimal markets using price and demand analysis. Set dynamic pricing based on elasticity and competitor behavior. Manage your supply chain with accurate forecasting.
Without CI, companies risk misallocating resources and missing out on regional opportunities.
Role of government and institutions
While businesses are the primary users of CI, governments and trade organizations must facilitate its adoption by:
Investing in digital infrastructure and open data platforms. Support CI training and development programs. Foster partnerships with universities and AI research centers. Ensure regulatory frameworks support ethical and safe data use.
Furthermore, regional organizations such as the African Union and the AfCFTA Secretariat should encourage the development of continent-wide CI networks to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) overcome barriers to accessing market information.
CI in the age of AI: Catalyst for sustainable growth
Integrating AI into CI is a game-changer. Tools such as sentiment analysis, geospatial intelligence, and automated supply chain monitoring provide African businesses with unprecedented capabilities to compete globally. Importantly, this also opens the door to inclusive growth. Digital CI platforms will become more accessible, allowing even the smallest businesses to compete effectively in the AfCFTA single market.
Additionally, AI-powered CI supports sustainable development by:
Identify green growth opportunities and ESG-compliant markets. Track environmental impact across the value chain. Supporting policy innovation through advanced modeling and simulation.
Key benefits of competitive intelligence for AfCFTA participants
Market entry and expansion: As the AfCFTA creates a single market, businesses across Africa will need to identify the most profitable markets for their products and services. CI provides companies with the data they need to assess market conditions, customer preferences, and competitive environments in African countries. This helps companies make informed decisions about where to invest and expand. Understand your competitors’ strategies: With more countries coming together under the AfCFTA, competition will intensify. CI allows companies to track key competitors’ strategies, including pricing strategies, product offerings, and expansion plans. This allows companies to anticipate competitive moves, adapt their strategies, and innovate in ways that differentiate them in the market. Reducing risks: AfCFTA brings new opportunities, but it also brings risks. These include the risk of market saturation, regulatory challenges and the potential for external competition from international companies. CI helps companies proactively identify and prepare for these risks, allowing them to adjust operations to reduce their negative impact. Government policies and investments: CI is critical for African governments to develop effective policies to enhance competitiveness. Governments can use CI to track developments in other parts of the world and assess how those innovations can be applied in Africa. For example, the introduction of digital trade platforms and the development of cross-border infrastructure projects in other regions could serve as a model for policy-making in Africa. Additionally, CI will help governments understand which industries are likely to benefit most from AfCFTA, allowing them to direct resources and investments accordingly. Strategic alliances and partnerships: AfCFTA opens the door to cooperation between businesses and governments across Africa. CI allows companies to identify potential partners with complementary strengths such as technical expertise, manufacturing capabilities, and distribution networks. Strategic alliances and partnerships can improve competitiveness by pooling resources, sharing risks, and gaining access to new markets.
Challenges to effective competitive intelligence under AfCFTA
Although competitive intelligence has significant benefits, there are challenges to its effective use in the AfCFTA context. One of the key challenges is the lack of robust data infrastructure across the continent. Many countries in Africa continue to face challenges in terms of data availability, quality and access. Without reliable and consistent data, it becomes difficult to generate actionable insights that drive strategic decision-making.
Another challenge is the lack of CI expertise. In many African countries, businesses and government agencies may not have the capacity to effectively collect and analyze competitive intelligence. Further education and training in CI practices is needed to provide professionals with the skills needed to navigate an increasingly complex competitive environment.
conclusion
AfCFTA represents a transformative opportunity for Africa’s economic future. But realizing its full potential in the AI era requires intelligence, not just policy coordination and infrastructure. Competitive intelligence powered by artificial intelligence is the strategic asset that differentiates leaders from laggards in this new continental economy. By embedding CI in both the strategic and operational layers of decision-making and ensuring its dissemination across businesses and institutions, African countries can create more competitive, resilient, and inclusive economies. This is not just a path to growth, but the foundation for sustainable prosperity in a connected, data-driven world.
*Alexander Maune is an accomplished Talmudic scholar, researcher, entrepreneur, and consultant with over 17 years of experience. He is a Research Fellow at UNISA (South Africa), a Lecturer at BUSE (Zimbabwe) and a former Business Finance Analyst at Standard Chartered Bank. His expertise spans corporate governance, competitive intelligence, development finance, accounting, and Talmudic studies. Email address: alexandermaune6@gmail.com.
