Opinions

Focusing on increasing value-added trade is pivotal to levelling out the trade imbalance, with the Chinese market offering many opportunities for African brands.     Over the past few decades, it has become increasingly clear that ‘aid’ is not the answer to fast-tracking Africa’s development. Solving economic and social challenges…

There is little doubt that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is one of the golden keys to unlocking the continent’s long-term economic prosperity. The free trade area has been a long time in the making, and there are still considerable hurdles to overcome, not least of which is…

While the UK splinters away from the European Union, Africa is uniting under a landmark free trade agreement, making it one of the largest since the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO).     By creating a shared market between 54 [55] countries, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)…

If she is chosen to head the World Trade Organization, former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, an experienced development economist, would make a broken institution relevant again. She has the gravitas to build bridges between the US and China, on the one hand, and between the WTO and Africa, on…

With Africa reeling from multiple crises this year, the region’s governments will have to direct their policy responses not just toward short-term recovery, but also toward long-term sustainability and resilience. Africa simply cannot afford any more investments in the dirty, inefficient, fragile economy of the past.   The International Monetary…

To create quality job opportunities for Africa’s growing youth population, the continent’s governments should both nurture the informal sector and encourage informal businesses to formalize their operations. To this end, they could employ many of the same tactics that have proved effective in encouraging the development of small and medium-size…

It is wholly unacceptable that a mother in sub-Saharan Africa is over 100 times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth than a woman in Western Europe in an age when having a mobile phone and access to the internet alone can greatly enhance their life chances.    …

Africa’s economic growth over the last 25 years has been accompanied by soaring inequality, which the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to worsen. Developing innovative products for the continent’s poorer “nonconsumers” will provide a more predictable, inclusive, and sustainable path to prosperity for hundreds of millions of people.     Eradicating poverty…

For too long, Africa has been a strategic plaything of world powers. By bolstering its internal cohesion and economic integration, the continent can become a strong geopolitical force with an independent and unified voice on important global issues.   Africans must take responsibility for our continent’s affairs. We have all…