At the ongoing Intra-Africa Trade Fair 2023, in Cairo, Egypt, one message reverberates across the event- Africa needs to unite, prioritise its growth and remove self-imposed barriers to realise its industrialisation ambitions.
Speaking on realising Africa’s growth agenda through the energy transition, Dr. Ainojie Irune, Executive Director, Oando PLC and Chief Operating Officer, Oando Energy Resources, called on governments to grow impatient about developing the continent.
In a session themed ‘African Energy Transition and African Industrialisation’, Dr. Irune said: “We sit on a continent that is truly blessed across the entire value chain and has everything needed to ensure that the energy transition for Africa serves its people.
Africa is home to 39% of the world’s renewable energy potential, yet is impoverished. A continent that is unable to feed its people, and educate its people, must think, first, about survival, just like the rest of the world. So, we must get impatient about developing our continent together.
Our governments need to get serious, collaborate between regions, and establish the required policies internally and externally to drive; not just trade, but the development of industries that would create the wealth we need to embark on the energy transition. Africa is the final frontier. We have a responsibility to design what we desire.”
Alongside an eclectic mix of panellists, Dr. Irune delved into the challenges of intra-Africa trade and preferred solutions to foster regional cooperation. Commenting on the importance of regional cooperation in Africa, Dr. Irune said: “We talk about collaboration, yet as we speak today, we haven’t dealt with the issue of intra-Africa travel for tourism, nor business.
To challenge the current tide against us, we have to look within, starting from our governance and policies. If we come together and throw our weight behind our agenda as a continent, we would become a powerful bloc to be reckoned with across the world. We need to build a consciousness that recognises the fact that everything we require to develop Africa is already within.”
Intra-African trade currently accounts for only 15 per cent of the continent’s total trade, compared to 58 per cent in Asia and 67 per cent in Europe.
As the new continental market emerges, so do opportunities. But those opportunities will not be to the benefit of Africans if African markets are not connected to create economies of scale.
It is now generally agreed that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA) presents Africa with an efficient shock absorber to the volatile global economy. Intra-African trade, in turn, provides the continent with an opportunity to accelerate its individual and collective efforts as governments, policy-makers, development institutions, corporate organisations and SMEs towards the realisation of the goals of the AfCFTA.
The AfCFTA is expected to boost intra-African trade by 52.3 per cent by 2025, increase Africa’s income by up to $450 billion by 2035, according to the IMF, and lift 30 million Africans out of extreme poverty.
