SON Backs African Quality Mark Certification Framework To Reduce AfCFTA Barriers

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has said the African Quality Mark Certification framework is central to efforts to reduce trade barriers under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as Africa intensifies the harmonisation of standards to support freer movement of goods and services.

The director general/chief executive of SON, Dr Ifeanyi Chukwunonso Okeke, stated this in Abuja at the African Quality Mark Award Ceremony, where Nigerian firms certified under the framework were recognised for compliance with harmonised African standards on safety, quality, reliability and performance.

He said Africa’s fragmented standards systems continue to expose manufacturers to multiple and often inconsistent regulatory requirements across markets, a situation that raises compliance costs, slows production processes, and weakens overall competitiveness.

According to him, harmonised standards are therefore essential in building a unified production and conformity assessment system that improves product acceptance and ensures smoother, more predictable access to markets across the continent.

Okeke said AfCFTA is gradually reshaping Africa’s trade structure by shifting the continent away from fragmented national systems toward an integrated continental marketplace, where compliance with agreed standards will increasingly determine market access and competitiveness.

He added that this transition is also expanding the role of standards institutions, which are now more central to removing technical barriers to trade and enabling the seamless movement of goods and services across African economies.

He explained that within this evolving framework, the African Quality Mark Certification serves as a verifiable benchmark for product quality, reinforcing trust among producers, regulators and consumers across the continent.

He further noted that AfCFTA is pushing Africa toward a more structured system anchored on common standards, a single market architecture, and a unified conformity assessment regime that supports predictable trade outcomes.

Okeke said SON remains committed to supporting Nigerian manufacturers through standards development, laboratory testing, inspection and market surveillance, all aimed at improving product quality and strengthening industrial competitiveness.

He added that these interventions are critical to ensuring that products certified under the African Quality Mark Certification framework remain competitive and widely accepted across African markets.

He observed that more Nigerian industries are already responding to these reforms by upgrading production systems and investing in quality management practices to meet certification requirements.

Okeke commended the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) for its continued leadership in advancing standards harmonisation and strengthening cooperation among national standards bodies across the continent.

He reaffirmed SON’s commitment to deepening Nigeria’s quality infrastructure and ensuring that the African Quality Mark Certification framework remains a credible gateway for trade under AfCFTA.

He stressed that sustainable competitiveness in Africa’s integrated market will ultimately depend on embedding quality assurance at the core of production systems and business practices.

Also speaking, the chairman of the Standards Council of Nigeria (SCN), Hon. Yahuza Ado Inuwa, said the African Quality Mark Certification is strengthening confidence in Nigerian products and improving their acceptance across African markets.

He said the certification reinforces industrial discipline while enhancing the credibility of Made-in-Nigeria goods in the wider African trade space.

Inuwa said the growing number of Nigerian firms attaining certification reflects a steady improvement in compliance culture, quality management systems and production standards across key sectors of the economy.

According to him, this shift is repositioning Nigerian industries for stronger participation in intra-African trade, where standards compliance is becoming a decisive factor for market access rather than geography or origin.

He added that the certification is also boosting consumer confidence across Africa by assuring buyers that Nigerian products meet agreed continental benchmarks for safety, reliability and performance.