Amid growing calls for economic transformation across the African continent, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, has once again challenged African nations to abandon the long-standing dependency on raw material exports, urging instead a bold pivot toward industrialisation and value-added production.
The warning, which came in a message shared on Adesina’s official X handle on Thursday, strikes at the core of Africa’s economic paradox: a continent rich in natural resources yet struggling with widespread poverty and underdevelopment. Despite being home to a significant share of the world’s critical raw materials ranging from oil and gas to lithium, cobalt, and agricultural products Africa’s footprint in global manufacturing remains marginal. According to trade data from the Office of the United States Trade Representative and other multilateral institutions, Africa contributes less than 2% to global manufacturing output and under 3% to international trade.
Adesina’s argument is rooted in a long-standing development truth: exporting unprocessed raw materials locks nations into low-income economic structures. While foreign buyers benefit from processing and reselling finished goods at higher margins, the countries supplying the raw inputs remain trapped in cycles of dependency and underdevelopment. This extractive model, many experts agree, has not only denied Africa the full economic benefits of its resource wealth but has also stifled industrial growth and limited job creation.
The AfDB president has been a vocal proponent of structural transformation across the continent. His development vision emphasises agro-industrialisation, energy access, infrastructure investment, and regional integration as key drivers of inclusive growth. With initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) now gaining traction, there is a real opportunity to reconfigure Africa’s economic landscape by increasing intra-African trade, scaling up regional manufacturing capacity, and investing in technology that enables value addition.
In tandem with his call for industrial transformation, Adesina has also taken a firm stance on global financial equity. He recently criticised the International Monetary Fund’s allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), highlighting the disparity in resource distribution. Of the $650 billion issued globally in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa received just $33 billion around 4.5% despite being one of the regions hardest hit by the economic fallout. This imbalance, he argued, undermines the continent’s ability to recover and invest in the long-term reforms needed for sustainable development.
In response to this challenge, the AfDB, in partnership with the African Union, has worked on a mechanism to rechannel unused SDRs from wealthier nations toward African economies. The newly approved framework, co-developed with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and endorsed by the IMF Board, will enable these resources to be leveraged more effectively using the AfDB’s AAA credit rating. This model represents a significant policy innovation, allowing African nations to access additional liquidity without exacerbating debt vulnerabilities.
Africa’s economic future, Adesina suggests, must be built on foundations of self-reliance, innovation, and structural reform. By investing in processing industries, building infrastructure, and developing domestic markets, African countries can begin to capture more value from their own resources. The era of exporting raw potential must give way to one of local transformation and regional prosperity.
With leadership from institutions like the AfDB and renewed commitment from African governments, the continent has an opportunity to chart a new course—one that moves beyond poverty and toward shared wealth rooted in homegrown production and sustainable growth.
