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Afreximbank President Urges Africa to Pursue Industrialisation as Path to Genuine Economic Sovereignty
Zimbabwe News
NEWS
The Nigerian Record
7/3/20262 min read
African Export-Import Bank president George Elombi has called on the continent to pursue industrialisation, regional trade and domestic resource mobilisation as the foundation for achieving genuine economic sovereignty, warning that Africa could no longer rely on a development model built around the extraction and export of raw materials while importing finished goods.
Speaking during a media briefing in Abuja, Nigeria, on Thursday, Elombi said the continent's next phase of growth must be driven by value addition, manufacturing, regional integration and stronger African financial institutions capable of mobilising domestic capital to finance development.
The Afreximbank president argued that despite Africa's vast natural resource wealth, the continent remains trapped in a cycle of dependency, exporting primary commodities at low prices only to import expensive finished products manufactured from those same resources. He said this pattern had left African economies vulnerable to global price shocks and external shocks while depriving the continent of the jobs, skills and industrial capacity needed to lift its growing population out of poverty.
Elombi emphasised that industrialisation was not merely an economic imperative but a political one, as genuine sovereignty could not be achieved without the productive capacity to meet the continent's own needs and determine its own economic destiny. He pointed to the African Continental Free Trade Area as a critical instrument for accelerating industrialisation by creating a unified market of over 1.4 billion people, but stressed that the agreement would only deliver tangible benefits if African countries simultaneously invested in manufacturing, infrastructure and skills development.
The Afreximbank chief also highlighted the importance of domestic resource mobilisation, noting that African countries had for too long relied on external financing and foreign aid, which often came with conditionalities that undermined policy autonomy. He called for stronger African financial institutions capable of channelling the continent's savings and investments towards productive sectors, reducing dependence on external creditors and ensuring that Africa's development was financed on its own terms.
Elombi's remarks come at a time when several African countries are grappling with mounting debt burdens, currency volatility and the lingering economic effects of global disruptions, reinforcing the urgency of building more resilient and self-sufficient economies. He reiterated Afreximbank's commitment to supporting African industrialisation through trade finance, project development and policy advisory services, urging governments and the private sector to work together to create an enabling environment for manufacturing and value addition to thrive.