The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has once again sounded the alarm over Africa’s continued reliance on raw commodity exports, declaring that the continent must urgently transition from being a supplier of unprocessed goods to a producer of value-added products if it truly intends to break the cycle of poverty and underdevelopment.
Dr. Adesina, a former Nigerian Minister of Agriculture and a vocal advocate for industrialisation in Africa, made the statement on Thursday via his official handle on X (formerly Twitter). In his words, “Africa must end the exports of its raw materials. The export of raw materials is the door to poverty. The export of value-added products is the highway to wealth. And Africa is tired of being poor.”
This bold statement comes amid mounting concerns that Africa’s enormous wealth in natural resources is not translating into economic prosperity for its people. Despite possessing some of the world’s most valuable minerals and agricultural produce, the continent continues to trail behind in terms of global trade value and industrial output. According to data from the Office of the United States Trade Representative and other international agencies, Africa contributes less than 2 percent to global manufacturing and accounts for under 3 percent of global trade.
Experts and policymakers have long identified this trend as one of the root causes of the continent’s economic vulnerability, with raw materials often exported at low prices, only to be reimported as expensive finished products. Dr. Adesina’s remarks echo a growing consensus that Africa must reverse this trend by developing strong value chains and promoting local manufacturing.
The African Development Bank has been at the forefront of driving policies that focus on industrialisation, particularly in agro-processing, energy infrastructure, and economic diversification. The AfDB has also been a strong supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a landmark agreement aimed at deepening intra-African trade, encouraging local production, and expanding the continent’s capacity to trade competitively on a global scale.
Beyond trade, Dr. Adesina also used the opportunity to spotlight what he described as an inequitable distribution of financial support to Africa by global institutions. Speaking on the recent allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the AfDB boss criticised the disproportionate share received by African countries. Out of the $650 billion issued globally, only $33 billion—about 4.5 percent—was allocated to Africa, a figure he described as grossly inadequate given the continent’s financial challenges, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He argued that African nations, many of which faced deep economic shocks and limited fiscal space, required far more support to recover. To help correct this imbalance, the AfDB, in collaboration with the African Union, has led an initiative to rechannel unused SDRs from wealthier nations back to Africa. This effort has now resulted in the approval of a new framework by the IMF Board, developed jointly by the AfDB and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The new model is expected to unlock more financing for African economies by leveraging the AfDB’s AAA credit rating, allowing SDRs to be redirected in a way that better serves the continent’s development needs.
With global economic dynamics shifting and Africa standing at a crucial crossroads, Dr. Adesina’s latest call to action underscores the urgent need for transformational leadership and decisive policy shifts to unlock the continent’s full potential. As Africa continues to push for a more equitable place in the global economy, the message is clear: the time to add value and build wealth at home is now.
