Economic Commission for Africa Director says government commitment and homegrown solutions will boost AfCFTA
Inclusive and sustainable approaches are critical for Africa's industrial development, says Stephen Karingi, Director for Regional Integration and Trade Division at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
"Industrialization is as a result of good policy. We need commitment by member states on policy and economic reforms that are home grown to promote industrialization on the continent," said Mr. Karingi.
The UNECA Director made the remarks at the High-Level Development Dialogue: How could Africa leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to spur sustainable inclusive industrialization at the African Economic Conference (AEC) 2023 held in Addis Ababa Ethiopia on 16 -18 November 2023.
The African Economic Conference (AEC) 2023 is jointly organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), under the theme "Imperatives for sustainable industrial development in Africa" in 2023.
The conference will provide an opportunity for participants to review the experience of industrialization on the continent.
Mr. Karingi noted that the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is to unite African economies and create one single market for 1.5 billion people in Africa to promote African trade. This requires political will by the member states.
While giving the lessons learnt by Ethiopia from other industrialized countries, Melaku Alebel, Minister of Industry of Ethiopia said his country was actively pursuing various mechanisms on manufacturing through AfCFTA to create employment opportunity, economic growth.
To promote industrialization, Ethiopia has highly invested in policy and regulatory reforms.
On infrastructure, Ethiopia's minister said that the country has heavily invested in infrastructure particularly railway, airlines energy, and road.
Focus is on manufacturing industry to create employment opportunity. In this case light manufacturing.
He said that Africa has a huge labour potential but should be educated for efficiency.
Africa also needs to invest on export promotion and import substitution strategy for better trade balance
Kevin Urama, Chief Economist and Vice-President at AfDB said to fully implement the AfCFTA African member states should prioritize production with focus on manufacturing.
"Countries should also investment more on infrastructure - the roads, rails, airlines - for moving goods to market and to improve factors of production and manufactured goods," said Prof. Urama. Adding that knowledge and governance capacity needs to be prioritized.
"Trade barriers among countries is still a challenge making trade difficult. There is need to invest in boarder agencies and customs to remove the barriers and improve efficacy of AfCFTA."
Financial integration he said is key for trade to promote the cross boarder trading and increase liquidity.
Adam Elhiraika, Director of the Macroeconomics and Governance Division, UNECA said there is need for a new narrative on Africa's transformation through industrialization.
"Africa youth should challenge the narrative of Africa that the continent cannot integrate, industrialize. African can finance its development," said Mr. Elhiraika.
He noted that domestic resource mobilization in Africa needs a comprehensive macroeconomic policy that focus on structural transformation that focusses on industrialization as its tool.
"Africa contributes about 1.7% of global value chain which is very small. Value addition on the continent is a must. There is need to promote regional and local value chains not just for exports but also for local use," said the UNECA Director.
AfCFTA aims to unite 54 diverse economies, creating a single market for 1.5 billion people in Africa.
UN Secretary General's message on Africa Industrialization Day
Making industrialization in Africa more sustainable and inclusive
By Antonio Guterres
Accelerating Africa's industrialization is vital for growth, diversifying economies, building resilience, boosting employment, and combatting poverty.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
But to be successful, industrialization must be sustainable and inclusive.
And as this year's theme highlights, accelerating Africa's industrialization depends on the empowerment of African women.
Boosting the number of women in manufacturing jobs is the surest path to maximize productivity and guarantee that the benefits of industrial growth reach the families and communities of its workers.
On Africa Industrialization Day, let us re-double our efforts to dismantle barriers that prevent women from participating in - and benefiting from - industrial development and technological innovation.
The United Nations is strongly committed to accelerating these efforts and working together across Africa to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union's Agenda 2063.
Together, we can realize the vision of a peaceful and prosperous Africa for all.
