Accelerating trade integration, industrialisation and investment

Mr. Simon Madjie, Chief Executive Officer-Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), believes Africa must take deliberate steps to industrialise in order to improve living standards and fully harness the opportunities presented by continental integration initiatives.

To him, Africa is at a critical stage in the implementation of Agenda 2063 and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) remains a key instrument for driving industrial development and economic transformation across the continent.

The historical dependence on exporting raw materials must give way to processing and adding value to natural resources in support of sustainable growth.

He made these remarks at the Africa Trade Summit 2026, held in Accra under the theme ‘Financing Africa’s Industrialisation: Developing Industrial Value Chains, Beneficiation and Market Integration’.

The summit focused on accelerating trade integration, industrialisation and investment across Africa, with discussions centred on value addition, standardisation, infrastructure development, financing and private sector participation under the AfCFTA framework.

Agenda 2063 is Africa’s blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into a global powerhouse of the future. It is the continent’s strategic framework that aims to deliver on its goal for inclusive and sustainable development and is a concrete manifestation of the pan-African drive for unity, self-determination, freedom, progress and collective prosperity pursued under Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance.

The genesis of Agenda 2063 was the realisation by African leaders that there was a need to refocus and reprioritise Africa’s agenda from the struggle against apartheid and attainment of political independence for the continent which had been the focus of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), precursor of the African Union, to prioritise inclusive social and economic development, continental and regional integration, democratic governance and peace and security among other issues.

Agenda 2063 encapsulates not only Africa’s aspirations for the future but also identifies key flagship programmes which can boost Africa’s economic growth and development and lead to rapid transformation of the continent.

This agenda is an ambitious vision and action plan intended to drive Africa’s change, development and transformation for the next 37 years.

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