Former President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has urged African leaders to shift from raw-material exports to local processing and manufacturing, integrate continental markets and invest in homegrown technologies to accelerate industrialisation and secure a stronger position in the global economy.
Adesina made the call while delivering a speech titled, “Africa’s Next Leap: Visionary and Ethical Leadership for an Integrated and Prosperous Africa in the Global Economy,” at the BPI Iconic Awards in Johannesburg, South Africa, weekend.
He argued that Africa’s economic transformation depended on its ability to convert its vast natural resources into industrial value, its youthful population into productive skills and its fragmented markets into a unified platform for large-scale production and global competitiveness.
“Africa’s greatest strength is not simply what we possess. It is what we can create from what we possess,” he said.
Adesina identified industrialisation, regional integration, technological innovation and ethical leadership as critical to unlocking the continent’s economic potential, stressing that Africa must move beyond exporting raw materials to developing industries that create jobs, build expertise and retain more value within its economies.
He cited the $20 billion Dangote Refinery in Nigeria as an example of how African capital and entrepreneurship could deliver large-scale industrial assets capable of competing in global markets.
According to him, Africa needs more industrial champions across sectors such as automobile manufacturing, electric vehicles, battery production, pharmaceuticals, food processing, machinery and artificial intelligence.
He said African countries should develop the capacity to process their minerals, manufacture products, undertake research and create intellectual property instead of remaining suppliers of raw materials to industries elsewhere.
“Mining can be the beginning. Processing creates skills. Refining creates technological capabilities. Manufacturing creates industrial ecosystems. Research creates intellectual property,” he said.
On regional integration, the former AfDB president called for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to become an industrial platform rather than merely a mechanism for expanding trade among African countries.
He said integrating markets and production systems would enable countries to pool their resources and capabilities, attract investment, reduce costs and provide African businesses with the scale needed to compete internationally.
“No African country needs to produce everything. But Africa can produce far more together,” he said.
Adesina envisaged a continental production network in which countries would contribute different strengths, including minerals, energy, processing and final assembly, enabling businesses to operate across national borders and develop globally competitive value chains.
He also called for greater investment in education, vocational training and technological capacity to harness Africa’s youthful population.
Noting that approximately 60 per cent of the continent’s population was under 25, he said Africa must equip its young people with the skills needed to drive emerging industries and participate meaningfully in the global economy.
He urged universities and vocational institutions to strengthen their links with industry, while promoting apprenticeships and lifelong learning.
Education, he maintained, should prepare young Africans not only for employment but also to establish businesses, develop technologies, solve problems and create jobs.
On artificial intelligence, Adesina warned that Africa must not remain a consumer of technologies developed by other economies, urging governments to invest in advanced computing, semiconductors, robotics, data science and cybersecurity.
He said the continent needed stronger universities, laboratories, computing infrastructure and industrial ecosystems to enable African innovators to develop technologies and intellectual property of their own.
“Africa must not simply adopt the technologies of the future; we must help build them,” he said.
Adesina, however, stressed that these ambitions required visionary and ethical leadership capable of prioritising long-term national development over short-term political and personal interests.
He said public resources must be managed transparently and responsibly, with accountability, due process and strong institutions serving as foundations for sustainable development.
“The national interest must stand above all other interests,” he said.
He maintained that leaders must ensure that decisions on public finances, infrastructure, mining agreements and strategic partnerships create lasting value and expand opportunities for citizens and future generations.
Adesina urged African governments to invest in people, connect markets, build competitive industries and provide businesses with the infrastructure, financing and enabling environment required to grow.
He said Africa’s next phase of development would depend on translating its demographic strength, natural resources and technological potential into productive capacity and broad-based prosperity.
“Our potential is immense. Our future is ours to shape,” he said, calling on African leaders to embrace ambition, innovation, integration and public service to build a prosperous and globally competitive continent.
