Leading voices in African finance and trade have made a renewed call for continental economic integration, urging governments and businesses alike to prioritize regional value chains, scale intra-African trade, and invest in the infrastructure needed to drive long-term growth.
At a high-profile panel session titled “Fast-Tracking African Integration: The Private Sector Imperative”, held during the 2025 Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, three influential leaders — Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank; Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA); and Samaila Zubairu, President/CEO of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) — shared bold insights on transforming Africa’s trade landscape.
Roosevelt Ogbonna issued a rallying cry for Africans to take pride in goods produced on the continent, challenging long-standing perceptions around product quality.
“Years ago, ‘Made in China’ or ‘Made in Taiwan’ was seen as inferior. Today, those labels command global respect. The difference? Investment in local markets, innovation, and scale,” Ogbonna said. “Africa is no different. We have raw materials, a youthful population, and the ambition. My message remains: Buy Africa — it’s not inferior.”
Wamkele Mene spoke on AfCFTA’s tangible progress in facilitating trade, citing tools like the e-Tariff Book and the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund, which are designed to harmonize tariffs and provide transition support to African nations.
Samaila Zubairu emphasized the critical need for strategic alignment between public and private sectors to bridge Africa’s infrastructure deficit and unlock trade potential.
“Infrastructure is at the heart of integration. Without roads, rail, ports, and digital connectivity, free trade remains aspirational,” Zubairu noted.
The panelists collectively stressed that despite AfCFTA’s promise, structural barriers such as underdeveloped logistics networks and the $120 billion trade finance gap — particularly for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) — continue to stifle intra-African commerce.
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Ogbonna called for financial institutions to play a more proactive role in bridging this divide:
“MSMEs are the backbone of Africa’s economy. If we don’t close the liquidity gap and provide them with innovative financial tools, we risk stalling the progress we’ve made,” he warned.
Highlighting potential solutions, the Pan-African Payments and Settlement System (PAPSS) was identified as a transformative initiative that could reduce reliance on foreign currencies for intra-continental transactions and simplify cross-border trade.
The session concluded with a unified message: Africa’s time is now. The continent’s economic destiny lies in its ability to build confidence in its own markets, invest in its people, and create systems that enable self-sufficiency and resilience.
“Africa has what it takes to win,” Ogbonna declared. “We just need to believe in ourselves and take bold, coordinated action.”
