In May 2013, during a session of the African Union Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, African leaders adopted a development blueprint to transform Africa across all fronts. The framework outlined seven major frontiers that leaders believed the continent had to strengthen to gain global influence and local stability.

The resulting agreement was named Agenda 2063, a 50-year development blueprint with Africa’s progress at its heart. More than a decade in, we look into the progress of the 2063 development agenda as the transformative project enters the second of its five ten-year phases.

This article highlights the measurable growth achieved since the rollout of the development trajectory that can be firmly attributed to its implementation. We also explore the bottlenecks that certain pillars of the development agenda face along the way to achieving the intended outcome by the 2063 deadline.

How Much Progress Has Africa Made on Agenda 2063?

The implementation of the Agenda 2063 core ideas has entered the second phase after the completion of the first phase of development, which closed in 2023. By the end of the first phase, experts, analysts and Pan-Africanists believed that while the agenda was on the upwards trajectory, development remained uneven across the continent. Agenda 2063 had envisaged the continent under a robust economy where poverty was a thing of the past.

At the heart of this economic integration were the integration of activities within the continent, the revival of the rule of law, a return to democracy, and the fostering of peace and security within the continent. While addressing the progress of the agenda at the ten-year landmark, Ambassador Frederic Gatereste-Ngoga, who until recently served as Senior Advisor on International Partnerships,  doubled down on the reasons he believed the continent needed a long-term plan to begin with.

He acknowledged that it was important to look at the agenda as an implementation project with measurable deliverables rather than as a long-term vision. He cited growth in sectors such as transportation, education, peace and security as major indicators of the progress towards realising the vision. According to Gatereste-Ngoga, the continent has made a major leap towards the agenda’s actualisation. As other economic analysts agree, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) that has been in force since 2019, has made Africa the largest free trade area in the world by membership.

The African Development Bank has confirmed that projects central to the achievement of the agenda are underway. Such projects include cross-country roads, railway connectivity expansion and cross-border master plans, all funded by member states and development bodies.

However, while free trade and regional integration seem to be yielding results only a decade in, some areas have been left out in the cold. Analysts have pointed to the agenda for a return to constitutionalism and democracy as one that has been massively underachieved. Gatereste-Ngoga reiterates the same, admitting that just governance, silencing the guns and constitutionalism have all faced a significant setback over the ten years of the agenda.

Comparatively, the objectives on the agenda have recorded a varied progress index. While free trade, regional integration and infrastructural development have taken the lead, regional peace and democratic governance still need work. 54 African states have all signed and onboarded the free trade agenda, enabling progress towards a robust economy fueled by borderless international trade under the AfCFTA.

In conjunction with infrastructural development across the continent, free trade is easily the agenda one item that’s closest to actualisation.

The Call for Renewed Commitment

Several heads of state have come forward to rally other member states to commit to the success of Agenda 2063, stating that efforts should be equal as the benefits are for the entire continent rather than individual states.

Speaking during the 42nd session of the African Union Development Agency- New Partnership for Africa’s Development, Kenya’s President William Ruto urged all leaders to commit resources and resolve to pull their own weight towards achieving the vision in its fullness. “The success of Agenda 2063 depends not on chance or hope, but on choice, resolve and relentless implementation. Let us mobilise resources, strengthen governance, and forge partnerships that drive tangible results for the people of Africa,” he said.

President Ruto also believes that if more efforts are directed towards the development agenda, then the objectives that are still in the background can be dragged to success. It is important to acknowledge that objectives such as democracy, constitutionalism and fair governance are not completely removed from the greater economic agenda, as stability and peace play a major role in providing the perfect environment for economic growth, as Gatereste-Ngoga observes in his assessment of the progress.

The success of the AfCFTA has served as the benchmark for the other objectives on the agenda. AfCFTA has made measurable progress, making it one of the most notable transformations attributed to the Vision. According to reports by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), cross-border commerce within the continent alone accounted for more than 18% of the total merchandise moving in the continent in 2025.

Afreximbank also documents a similar growth pattern, with their official report stating that in 2025, Intra-African trade grew by approximately 5.5%, hitting a new high of 213 billion dollars in revenue. The figures reveal a significant pattern in regional trade as African countries rely on each other for resources thanks to the progressive free trade agenda.

All indicators show that African countries are becoming more integrated as the continental reforms take root. To establish whether regional integration has progressed significantly, we need to assess how seamlessly the individual states collaborate on various matters.

Regional trade has grown significantly over the period since the rollout of Agenda 2063. Alongside that, the visa-free travel objective has been implemented in 28% of the countries, making movement easier within the continent. Most African countries have already embraced the digital immigration registry, with more countries issuing e-visas to help accelerate movement. The infrastructure and policies are shaping towards a more integrated Africa.

Challenges Hindering African Integration

Despite all the efforts put towards integration of the continent, different government policies still delink the nations from seamless integration. It has been observed that while travel and movement have been made significantly easier within the continent, trade volumes between neighbouring countries do not reflect the same.

The vision of a fully integrated free market remains a pipedream if policies are not aligned. The infrastructural deficit between member countries also poses a major bottleneck towards increasing trade volume.

Agenda 2063 starts from a point of accepting uneven infrastructural development as a major hurdle towards total integration. It has therefore set aside resources for upgrading continental road and rail connectivity.  Researchers have attributed the lagging trade in the continent to non-tariff barriers imposed by state policies. While still out of the vision’s scope, a common currency for regional trade would also help achieve a more robust trade integration.

To picture free trade at a continental level, one would have to picture a continent that has streamlined its immigration policies. African countries have all but agreed on common ground when it comes to matters about immigration. While up to 30% of states have declared their territories visa-free for other African countries, most of the states are still held back by rigid immigration policies stifling regional integration. Even among the countries that issue visas to their visitors from within the continent, the visas are not yet streamlined on digital platforms, making the acquisition process tedious and exhausting.

While addressing visa policies in South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa communicated a firm stand defending their position as a nation to run a strict vetting and visa program for other African countries. This is an instance where a country that accounts for up to 14% of Africa’s total nominal GDP is locked out of the integrated market by rigid immigration policies. The president, however, explained that their position is informed by the upsurge of illegal migration in the country.

Agenda 2063’s Impact on Continental Peace

Among the major objectives of Agenda 2063 is peace and security within the continent. It goes without saying that peace and security are non-negotiable elements for growth of any kind; it is therefore important to assess the state of the continent’s peace and stability. The Global Peace Index of 2026 ranks Sudan and DRC as the least peaceful countries in Africa due to the prolonged internal warfare and armed conflict that have riddled the two countries over the years.

Other African countries are classified as relatively peaceful, with trends showing that election years, when political injustice flares up is when the peaceful nations register instability. The African Union is working towards ending the long-standing conflicts in Sudan and DRC in a bid to restore peace and create an environment that favours free movement and trade.

The military takeovers in the Sahel region have also greatly affected the ambitions of the AU. The objective of democratic and just governance has been watered down time after time with the collective impact of the conflicts in Sudan, Eastern DRC and the Sahel region. It is the hope of the Union that a peaceful state in these regions will translate into a vibrant economy as free trade excels.

How Have Economic Reforms Improved Living Standards?

The answer as to whether the economic growth overseen by the AU policies translates to better living standards for an ordinary African is a mixed bag. While the continent’s nominal GDP has been reported to be on a steady rise, the same doesn’t show in the livelihoods of ordinary citizens.

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa acknowledges that extreme poverty has been in steady decline. However, the financial benefits are not evenly spread, leaving most homesteads predisposed to eventual inflation. Most of the fastest-developing sectors in Africa, such as extraction industries, contribute significantly to the GDP but do not create as many jobs.

It is optimistic to envision that Agenda 2063 will effectively elevate the standards of livelihood among Africans in its full rollout. The biggest hurdle the vision is facing is financing. As mentioned earlier, several heads of state have made an appeal for all countries to throw their weight behind the African Renaissance by committing resources.

The first phase has heavily benefited from domestic public revenue, development institutions and external financiers from across the globe. Some projects in the agenda, such as the Single Air Transport Market, are highly finance-intensive, creating a financing gap.

The countries are also already overburdened by sovereign debt, holding them back. If  countries don’t fully commit to the strategy, the vision may take longer to come to fruition. Despite all the setbacks and economic challenges, the success of Agenda 2063 is pegged to the individual countries’ ability and willingness to carry their own weight in the collective journey.

While the Agenda is rightly placed, the AU lacks the authority to commit the individual states to fulfil their continental commitments. Most countries have therefore treated the development agenda as a secondary commitment while prioritising their national projects. Some countries, however, despite the willingness to commit, simply do not have the muscles to flex between economic sustainability at the national level, foreign debts and the continental commitment. This makes the financing a challenge.

Lessons from the First Phase of Agenda 2063 Implementation

If the first phase of implementation teaches us anything, it shows us the need for full commitment towards the ideas of the agenda. Only 51% of the intended objectives for the phase that lapsed have been achieved. The disparity can be attributed to uneven commitment, which must be addressed for the overall success of the idea.

Vision is not everything; measurable institutional delivery has let the objectives down. Africa has also learnt from a long history with foreign debts that external aid is insufficient and unreliable.

Finally, the first phase has emphasised the need for member states to own the agenda as opposed to seeing it as an AU-led affair.