The world’s largest trade area since the advent of the World Trade Organization is rising to the fore in Africa. Yet with so much discussions in the West around disputes with China, it is easy to have missed this monumental geo-economic development.

At the recent Extraordinary Summit of the African Union in Niamey, Niger, free enterprise prevailed – as did the human spirit. Fifty-four nations are officially in the new free trade area, incorporating over 1.2 billion people and a projected annual GDP of more than $2.5 trillion. The plan is to have 90% of tariffs removed come July next year during the first phase.

The nation of Niger played host to this month’s historic summit. The landlocked country north of Nigeria ranks lowest on the UN’s Human Development Index and has battled violence and terror, much of it from unstable neighboring countries in the Sahel region. But not even a terror attack 125 miles away could shake the resolve of delegates. As we landed at the capital city’s brand-new airport, the excitement was tangible. For the older generation, the free trade deal is the culmination of decades of dreams for a more integrated continent; transcending old artificial...