With big push: Africa shapes markets – Businessday NG

The global landscape is shifting rapidly with trade tensions, evolving alliances, and supply chain disruptions redefining the rules of international trade and commerce.

For Africa, these changes present not just challenges but also a significant opportunity. This strengthens the resolve that: Africa must lead, define its path, and shape its markets. That’s why the theme of Unstoppable Africa 2025 “The BIG Push: Africa Shapes the Markets” is both timely and imperative.

This suggests that Africa’s underdeveloped economies need large, simultaneous, and coordinated investments across multiple sectors to break out of poverty traps and achieve rapid growth.

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On this note, African and global heads of state, business leaders, and top investors will be in New York from September 21 to 22 for Unstoppable Africa 2025 which focuses on how to accelerate the continent’s economic transformation and position Africa as a driving force in shaping the markets.

While growth is accelerating, issues like limited access to finance, high inflation, the persistence of the “resource curse”, and the struggle to create sufficient good jobs remain key hurdles in Africa’s economic story.

Africa has staked its position as the cornerstone of the world’s future. The continent is now positioned to be the most important driver of global business with a $3 trillion market opportunity.

This year’s flagship event will explore how Africa can adapt to global changes and take the lead in areas like energy, digital transformation, trade, the creative economy, and sport.

The digital economy is a key driver of Africa’s growth, with rapid technological adoption and mobile money transforming financial inclusion and e-commerce. Also, investments in renewable energy sources like solar and wind present a significant opportunity for Africa’s future economic growth and exports.

Amid these potentials, many nations still struggle with what is seen as resource curse, where abundant natural wealth is not translated into broad-based development, rather fuelling corruption. Despite Africa’s growth potentials, many economies struggle to create enough good jobs, leaving segments of the population unemployed and leading to social instability.

Also, access to capital, particularly for the private sector, remains a significant barrier to industrialisation and growth across the continent. In additional, inadequate infrastructure continues to hinder Africa’s economic development and the full potential of the market.

Hosted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, chairperson of the African Union (AU), the event is convened by the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI).

No doubt the economic narrative of Africa is a dual story of tremendous potential and significant challenges. It is marked by a shift from solely resource-driven growth to a more diversified model leveraging its young, urbanising population and booming digital economy.

The narrative is increasingly about building domestic demand, fostering innovation, investing in green energy, and empowering youth and women to drive sustainable, inclusive growth and achieve economic sovereignty.

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“As the world confronts challenges, Africa offers solutions, whether in energy transitions, digital transformation, or inclusive trade, GABI is our platform to own this potential, and explore how Africa can continue to drive global progress,” said Amina J. Mohammed, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General.

Africa is recognised as a global economic powerhouse in the making, driven by a fast-growing population and increasing consumption. The narrative is shifting from a dependence on commodities to demand-driven growth, fuelled by rising domestic consumption and investments.

Since its inception in 2022, the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI) has convened global private sector leaders, CEOs, investors, industry leaders, philanthropy, academics, UN leaders, and heads of government at its various convenings.

The annual flagship event, Unstoppable Africa, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, has witnessed the active participation of 10 Heads of State and over 8,000 participants.

Africa holds vast potential for growth, driven by a young population, expanding African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), abundant natural resources (including critical minerals for the green transition), and burgeoning service and digital sectors.

While facing challenges like inflation and infrastructure gaps, strategic policy reforms, investment in human capital, and deeper regional integration are crucial to unlock its potential, which could see its GDP significantly increase and even surpass major global economies by 2050.

The Global Africa Business Initiative had issued its Unstoppable Africa 2024 executive summary shedding light on transformative strategies and solutions to reshape Africa’s financial narrative and accelerate economic growth.

Africa’s economy is projected to experience positive growth, with forecasts from sources like the World Bank and the African Development Bank indicating an acceleration from 2024 to 2025 and beyond, driven by factors such as lower inflation and recovery in key economies.

However, this growth is uneven across the continent and faces challenges like high debt, unemployment, and vulnerability to global commodity prices, which slow progress in resource-rich and conflict-affected nations.

In 2024 alone, the event brought together more than 4,000 participants, including 1,545 in-person and 2,531 virtual attendees, 6 Heads of State as well as 14 Government Ministers from 13 countries, over 600 CEOs and business leaders, and 119 speakers from all over the world.

Unstoppable Africa 2025 brings together the private sector, governments, policymakers, global and regional stakeholders to develop actionable frameworks for Africa’s transformation; promoting trade and investment opportunities in Africa and the world.