Africa growth summit: charting a course for African prosperity

Our world is going through a seismic shift, one not seen for the last three generations and more.

As Africans, we face the world’s contemporary challenges: tariff wars, geopolitical uncertainty, regional conflict, and increasing Balkanisation.

The present remains a great paradox for the African continent. On one hand, the moment is fraught with complexity; on the other, it is rich with potential.

We cannot ignore the troubling rise of anti-democratic practices, including intimidation and suppression. Our future cannot be built on democracy under siege.

One area demanding urgent attention is the Horn of Africa.

We are witnessing protracted instability in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan, where conflicts have displaced millions. Without peace in the Horn of Africa, the vision of a unified, prosperous continent is incomplete.

Here's what we can do.

First, strengthen regional diplomacy under the AU and IGAD, ensuring African solutions to African problems.

Second, support inclusive governance and peacebuilding, especially where ethnic and political fault lines run deep.

Third, invest in post-conflict reconstruction, enabling economies to recover and communities to rebuild trust.

Fourth, and most importantly, protect civilians, empower local peace actors, and ensure peace is more than simply the absence of war. It is the presence of justice, economic opportunity, and political dignity.

We must also be clear-eyed about the geopolitical opportunity before us.

As the world’s two largest economies - China and the United States - remain locked in a prolonged tariff war, global change is on the horizon. In this disruption lies Africa’s strategic opening.

This is our chance to make our move: position Africa as a stable, neutral trade hub, attract re-routed investment and manufacturing, and accelerate intra-African trade through AfCFTA.

Rather than becoming a passive battleground for global superpowers, Africa must become a bold negotiator, advancing its cause on the global stage.

The message must be clear: Africa is not for taking sides. Africa is for moving forward.

Amid all the turbulence, a new Africa is rising. We are seeing the early fruits of democratic resilience and fresh leadership.

We see it in the courage of Duma Boko.

In the democratic maturity of Senegal and Ghana.

In the inspiring emergence of women's leadership in Namibia.

These are signals of a continent reawakening to its potential.

At the heart of Africa’s future is intra-African trade. And at the centre of that trade lies a transformative project: The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

A single market of 1.4 billion people. A combined GDP of over $3 trillion. And a chance to trade with each other, trust each other, and grow together.

Underpinning this must be the easier movement of goods, investment in logistics and infrastructure, and harmonised cross-border regulation.

We must truly move from borders that divide to borders that connect.

The future will play into Africa’s hands for the simple reason that Africa’s strength lies in its people.

Our population of 1.4 billion is a demographic dividend waiting to be unlocked.

To seize it, the continued investment in education and skills should be increased

Young people require training for a 5th economy: digital, green, and knowledge-driven.

We must be more than exporters of raw materials. Instead, we must become manufacturers of value.

Today, the conditions we play in do not favour us.

The cost of capital in Africa is too high.

This is made worse by global ratings systems, which do not understand us. They penalise our volatility but fail to recognise our potential.

I wish to suggest today the formation of an African Ratings Agency, an institution that understands the structural nature of developing economies, values our resource endowments, and applies data-driven, country-specific insights.

Because an Africa that prospers will only do so through smart capital investment.

This moment requires strong and agile leadership.

Not just loud, but wise.

Not just present, but future-focused.

As Kwame Nkrumah declared, “We neither look East nor West - we look forward.”

And he reminded us: “The liberation of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked with the total liberation of the African continent.”

That work - economic liberation, democratic deepening, and continental unity - remains incomplete.

And it is ours to finish.

Let us build an Africa that trades, educates, builds, and leads.

Mmusi Maimane is the leader of Build One SA