The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides African  firms with tariff-free market access as long as they meet the rules of  origins (RoOs) requirement specified in the Agreement. The primary  aim of RoOs is to offer preferential tariff benefits exclusively to AfCFTA  member countries while preventing trade deflection from non-member  countries. However, stringent and costly RoOs can hinder trade  among member countries, potentially affecting regional value chain  (RVC) development and preference utilisation rates. Our main  conclusion is that the AfCFTA has relatively restrictive RoOs, which  reduce preference utilisation. Hence, AfCFTA implementers need to  consider policies to lower the restrictiveness and costs of RoOs.