Keypoints:
- Leaders call trade tensions a chance
- Private sector urged to drive change
- AfDB outlines four-pillar growth plan
IVORIAN Prime Minister Robert Mambé and African Development Bank (AfDB) President Sidi Ould Tah have called on Africa’s private sector to seize the current global trade upheavals as an opening to accelerate the continent’s economic transformation.
The pair delivered their remarks in Abidjan on Monday at the 13th edition of the CGECI Academy, the flagship forum of Côte d’Ivoire’s employers’ federation. This year’s theme, ‘Economic sovereignty: Time for Action’, brought together senior government officials, business leaders and regional employers’ organisations for two days of debate.
‘The time for action is now’
Prime Minister Mambé urged African stakeholders to move decisively beyond debate.
‘The time for self-analysis is over; it’s now time for action,’ he said. ‘We must become aware of our strengths, our weaknesses and our untapped potential, and most importantly, we must establish a synthesis that consolidates our achievements for new prospects that are based on intelligent and dynamic partnerships.’
He emphasised that economic sovereignty could only be achieved through collaboration across government, investors, young entrepreneurs and consumers alike.
AfDB outlines four-pillar vision
Echoing the Prime Minister’s call, Ould Tah insisted that the continent should not view global trade frictions as a danger. Instead, he said they should be seen as a ‘historic opportunity’ to strengthen regional value chains and process more raw materials locally.
‘For Africa, this is not a threat; it is a historic opportunity to establish a stronger, more integrated and more resilient local economy,’ the AfDB president told the gathering.
Ould Tah, who assumed office on September 1, presented his four-pillar strategy for Africa’s development: mobilising large-scale capital, reforming the continent’s financial architecture, accelerating the creation of quality jobs and building climate-resilient infrastructure through green industrialisation.
‘Structural economic transformation cannot be achieved by governments alone,’ he added. ‘It will also come from the African private sector, which must be central to the strategy.’
Business backing for reform
The CGECI, representing nearly 80 per cent of Côte d’Ivoire’s private sector, reaffirmed its support for the drive towards economic sovereignty. Its president, Ahmed Cissé, said the private sector was ready to work with institutions like the AfDB to consolidate Africa’s financial independence.
That partnership has already yielded results. Since 2016, the AfDB and CGECI’s joint initiative La finance s’engage has mobilised resources for hundreds of Ivorian start-ups, including a €1.108mn project that supported 200 young entrepreneurs, nearly a third of them women.
A critical moment
The Abidjan gathering comes as global trade frameworks face mounting strain from protectionism and geopolitical rivalries. For many African leaders, the turbulence highlights the need to reduce reliance on external markets and expand intra-African commerce.
Both Mambé and Ould Tah framed this as a decisive moment for the continent. By turning disruption into opportunity, they argued, Africa could take a major step towards building resilient economies anchored in sovereignty and inclusive growth.
