Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama, has stated that Africa must be deliberate in creating strong regional value chains across multiple sectors to spur integrated economic development on the continent.
The call was made at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Africa Trade Summit held in Accra from January 28 to 29, 2026. The summit aimed to bring together policymakers, top-level businesspeople, and investors from across the continent to brainstorm how to leverage the competitive advantages of all 55 nations as a strategic way to maximize Africa’s economic potential on the global stage.
Delivering his address as the Guest of Honour, President Mahama emphasized that the single largest market zone, comprising 55 countries under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) with 1.4 billion people, is a strategic and crucial vehicle to help the continent transform itself into a viable industrial and manufacturing ecosystem that creates sustainable jobs and builds wealth for all member countries.
“Africa’s holistic industrialization and development cannot be achieved with fragmented national markets. Not every country can fully produce all the items needed in their economies, but they can leverage and collaborate with one another to use competitive advantages to address supply chain and production challenges that prevent Africans from trading among themselves, instead of creating wealth for the outside world by importing finished or semi-finished goods to the detriment of local industries.”
President Mahama also called on African governments to collaborate with private sector players and development partners to build durable and efficient infrastructure across the board.
“At the continental and subregional levels, political leaders and bureaucrats must be seen to deliberately encourage and establish trade and political agreements that support integrated transport and logistics infrastructure to facilitate the smooth movement of goods and services across transnational borders while creating decent value for all stakeholders.”
The 2026 Africa Trade Summit was held under the auspices of the Africa Trade Chamber and the Ministry of Trade and Agribusiness Development, with support from key private and public organizations, to consolidate advocacy for Africa’s rapid industrialization and economic sovereignty.
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Story by Sika Togoh | univers.ug.edu.gh
Edited by Gabriel Tecco Mensah
