Africa in control

In September 2025, in New York, the Unstoppable Africa Summit aimed to place Africa at the heart of global innovation. Concrete initiatives in the fields of digital technology and AI were announced, reflecting “… a paradigm shift towards locally driven solutions and long-term planning with an emphasis on proven technologies, the adoption of cutting-edge technologies, and capital investments to boost regional integration and global competitiveness .” An ambitious, well-oriented perspective demonstrating growing confidence in the African private sector (1).

“ Unstoppable Africa is a meeting that reminds us who we are and that we are moving forward on our own terms, ” declared Amina J. Mohammed, the British-Nigerian Deputy Secretary-General of the UN. An indisputable statement, and one that I believe, quite rightly, reflects a sense of pride.

For her part, Ms. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Nigerian-American Director-General of the WTO (World Trade Organization), stated that Africa was now emerging as a growth destination for global companies seeking to diversify their supply chains. A real treat, but a classic "The Crow and the Fox" fable that needs reinventing to avoid being fooled again.

In late November 2025, at the opening of the G20 summit under South African presidency (and therefore boycotted by the US), member countries adopted a joint declaration highlighting, for the first time, Africa's priorities: climate change, energy transition, inequality, and debt. This was a success for President Ramaphosa and for the continent, which now expects the implementation of the commitments made to: support vulnerable countries in terms of debt (23 sub-Saharan African countries are heavily exposed or over-indebted); better leverage mineral resources; and accelerate the energy transition, thanks to a €15.5 billion contribution announced by the EU.

From this constructive North-South dialogue, we have understood that business can bridge political disagreements between nations and also the importance of public-private partnerships (PPPs) as drivers of growth and development. Obvious, right? As long as competition does not lead to genuine economic warfare, the primary underlying cause of armed conflicts worldwide, and provided that PPPs adhere to a strict and pre-established governance framework, guaranteeing their effectiveness.

This Africa, proactive and uninhibited, taking its future into its own hands with the Agenda 2063 in mind; the Africa we envision for the African Union, dreams of being transformed " into a global power of the future ." An ambition which, despite its distant timeframe, might seem unrealistic, but which the pace and nature of the changes taking place there make possible.

However, this profound transformation, a true mutation, cannot occur solely through the influence of intellectual elites or those who govern. In my view, it must impact all African societies by involving them, in order to reach a first stage: Emergence (the exit from "underdevelopment"), which is an urgent matter. Yet, achieving the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals —defined in 2015—now seems largely compromised in many countries on the continent. GDP growth is insufficient in the face of poverty and income inequality, and governance is often ailing. The World Bank, in its Africa's Pulse report of October 2025, which notes this once again, recommends, among other things, " job creation and the development of a healthy business environment based on strong and inclusive institutions " within the framework of " a comprehensive policy program combining short-term measures and long-term strategies ." the rise of medium and large companies capable of achieving economies of scale, creating jobs and value; the effective implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area ( AfCFTA ).

This reminds me of the Franco-African summit in La Baule in 1990: fine rhetoric, but gaping chasms between recommendations and actions – with the various parties bearing responsibility. No governance, civilian or military, guarantees in itself multiparty democracy, economic democracy and social consensus, freedom of the press and judicial independence: only sustainable development can bridge the gap between grassroots and high-level governance and create the balanced conditions for a democratic framework. This requires the economic inclusion of all segments of the population, an objective that champions, large corporations, and SMEs – both local and foreign investors – cannot achieve alone. Rather than stigmatizing the informal sector, in which the vast majority of the workforce operates, the challenge should be to ensure its inclusion in the real economy, which creates shared value. The fact that the employment rate in sub-Saharan Africa is one of the highest in the world gives a better idea of the tremendous leverage this represents.

For years (2) I have emphasized the role of SMEs/VSEs in African development; banks are now understanding this, in their own way, recognizing SMEs as the backbone of African economies and a key driver of future growth. Another condition, which I have also long believed to be essential for development, is universal access to energy: an area now being addressed by the World Bank and the AfDB with Mission300 . I will return to these topics in a future article and, in the meantime, wish you a resilient and prosperous 2026.

(1) a selective confidence nonetheless, concentrated on large projects and limited areas of activity – see my article of August 2025 “When Africa…”

(2) See the articles published since 2020 on my consulting website www.serioja-africaconsulting.com

Sources: Unstoppable Africa – G20 South Africa – UN SDGs – World Bank Africa's Pulse (“How to create jobs in Africa”) – www.vie-publique.fr Address by the President of the French Republic La Baule June 20, 1990.