The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Simon Madjie, has called on African countries to accelerate industrial transformation by shifting from exporting raw materials to value addition and local production to improve living standards across the continent.
Madjie stated that Africa must take deliberate steps to industrialise in order to fully harness opportunities presented by continental integration initiatives, including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). He emphasized that the historical dependence on exporting raw materials must give way to processing and adding value to natural resources to support sustainable growth.
The GIPC chief made these remarks at the Africa Trade Summit 2026, held in Accra under the theme Financing Africa’s Industrialisation: Developing Industrial Value Chains, Beneficiation and Market Integration. The summit focused on accelerating trade integration, industrialisation and investment across Africa, with discussions centred on value addition, standardisation, infrastructure development, financing and private sector participation under the AfCFTA framework.
Madjie noted that Africa is at a critical stage in implementing Agenda 2063, the continent’s blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into a global powerhouse. He described AfCFTA as a key instrument for driving industrial development and economic transformation across the continent.
The Africa Trade Summit provided a platform for African governments, policymakers and business leaders to share experiences, align policies and promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Madjie moderated a high-level ministerial dialogue titled Accelerating Africa’s Industrial Transformation: Converting Extraction into Value and Building Industrial Champions on the first day of the summit.
Trade and Agribusiness Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare stressed during the dialogue that industrialisation will remain unattainable if African producers continue to face multiple and duplicative standards regimes across the continent. She noted that the lack of harmonised standards raises costs, delays trade, and weakens competitiveness under AfCFTA.
Ofosu-Adjare cited examples where Ghanaian products already cleared by national regulatory authorities undergo fresh testing in other African countries, describing the process as a waste of time and resources for businesses. She identified textiles, renewable energy and digital infrastructure as priority sectors requiring aggressive investment promotion.
Agenda 2063 was developed after African leaders realised the need to refocus and reprioritise Africa’s agenda from the struggle against apartheid and attainment of political independence to inclusive social and economic development, continental and regional integration, democratic governance and peace and security. The agenda replaced the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) focus with the African Union’s broader development objectives.
The blueprint encapsulates Africa’s aspirations for the future and identifies key flagship programmes intended to boost economic growth and development and lead to rapid transformation of the continent. Agenda 2063 is an ambitious vision and action plan intended to drive Africa’s change, development and transformation over 37 years from its adoption.
AfCFTA creates a single continental market for goods and services with free movement of business persons and investments, establishing the largest free trade area in the world measured by the number of countries participating. The agreement aims to significantly boost intra-African trade and position Africa better in the global economy.
Madjie has previously called on Ghanaians living abroad to channel remittances into productive investments to support national development, noting that diaspora remittances had outperformed foreign direct investment inflows and could have a stronger impact if properly directed. The GIPC has established a Diaspora Desk and AfCFTA Desk to support investors with tailored information and advisory services.
The Centre is also implementing an Investment Opportunity Mapping Project aimed at identifying and promoting viable investments across Ghana’s 261 districts to address the challenge of unequitable distribution of investment, with 80 per cent currently concentrated in the Greater Accra Region. Madjie announced that GIPC is working to reform the GIPC Act to enhance investor protection and improve the ease of doing business in Ghana.
