Beatrice Chaytor is an international trade lawyer, specializing in providing advice and support to African governments in their engagement with regional and international trade policy processes. She is currently Senior Expert – Trade in Services in the Department of Trade and Industry at the African Union Commission, based in Addis Ababa, and works on the negotiations for the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Prior to her position in the AUC, Ms Chaytor ran her own law firm, Chariot Eight in Freetown, Sierra Leone, providing legal services to local, regional and international clients on a range of corporate law matters including trade, investment, natural resources and environment.

Prior to her assignment in Sierra Leone, Beatrice worked for nine years as Senior Lawyer, and then Programme Director, at the Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development (FIELD) in London, building capacity among developing country negotiators at the World Trade Organisation.