President John Dramani Mahama has issued a clarion call for a “bold and coordinated” overhaul of Africa’s financial architecture, warning that the continent’s industrial ambitions will remain stalled without access to affordable, long-term capital.
Delivering the opening address at the Africa Trade Summit 2026 in Accra on Wednesday, January 28, 2028 in Accra, the President highlighted a critical bottleneck: while industrialisation is inherently capital-intensive, African businesses are currently trapped by shallow financial markets and prohibitively high interest rates.
President Mahama noted that Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), which form the backbone of the continent’s industrial workforce, are the hardest hit by these financial barriers. He argued that the “central question” facing African leaders today is how to finance growth at the necessary “scale and speed.”
“Africa must mobilise its domestic resources more effectively,” President Mahama stressed, calling for aggressive action against illicit financial flows and improved revenue collection.
A key pillar of the President’s proposal involves unlocking the massive reserves held within the continent. He urged governments to create the right instruments to channel hundreds of billions of dollars from pension funds, insurance companies, and sovereign wealth funds into industrial investments.
To attract the necessary private sector participation, the President outlined a three-pronged strategy:
- Policy Stability:Creating predictable environments for long-term investors.
- Domestic Resource Mobilization:Strengthening public financial management to fund infrastructure and energy projects.
The President’s remarks echoed the summit’s broader theme of economic sovereignty, following Sir Sam Jonah’s earlier calls for “unapologetic self-interest.” Mahama concluded by reminding delegates that development partners must move beyond traditional aid toward providing the technical de-risking tools that allow African industries to compete globally.
Eben Agyekum-Boateng, 3Business
