African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf has called for greater industrialisation, intra-African trade and domestic capital mobilisation as African economies seek to retain more value from their resources, businesses and expanding markets.
Youssouf was speaking at the Global Africa Business Initiative’s (GABI) Unstoppable Africa 2026 in New York, where he appeared alongside United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres during a high-level programme held on the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly. The gathering, organised by the UN Global Compact, brings together African and international business leaders, investors, policymakers and heads of state around the theme “Powering Business, Scaling Economies, Shaping the Future”.
The AU chairperson pointed to Africa’s natural resources, youthful population and continental consumer market as important foundations for economic transformation, but argued that the scale of those assets needs to be matched by greater productive capacity within Africa.
“Our ambition must now match this potential,” Youssouf said.
His argument centres on a long-standing structural challenge: African economies continue to derive substantial export earnings from commodities, while much of the processing and higher-value activity associated with those commodities takes place elsewhere. UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reported in its 2024 Economic Development in Africa Report that more than half of African countries depend on oil, gas or minerals for at least 60 per cent of their export earnings, leaving them exposed to commodity-price volatility.
Youssouf said implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is important for reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, but argued that continental integration should extend beyond simply increasing access to markets.
“Removing tariff and non-tariff barriers through the African Continental Free Trade Area is essential, but not enough,” he said, calling for a shift towards greater African participation in production, processing and ownership of value chains.
The case for deeper regional trade is supported by recent UN research. UNCTAD estimates that full implementation of the AfCFTA could create a market worth about US$3.4 trillion, while intra-African trade currently represents only about 16 per cent of the continent’s total exports. The organisation has identified transport, energy and digital infrastructure gaps, alongside non-tariff barriers, as significant constraints on the development of regional supply chains.
Youssouf also highlighted the role of African capital. He called for greater mobilisation of domestic savings, bank deposits, insurance assets and pension funds for productive investment within African economies. The emphasis reflects a broader debate over how African financial resources can be channelled towards infrastructure, manufacturing, technology and businesses rather than relying predominantly on external capital.
Infrastructure and productive capacity were similarly central to his remarks. The AU chairperson identified reliable and affordable energy, transport infrastructure, skills, technology, capital and effective standards and certification as necessary components of industrial development. He also called for faster development of regional and continental transport corridors to strengthen connectivity and intra-African commerce.
The emphasis on infrastructure reflects constraints identified by UNCTAD. Its 2024 report found that infrastructure weaknesses contribute to higher trade costs across the continent and can limit the ability of businesses, particularly smaller firms, to participate in regional supply chains. At the same time, the report notes that processed and semi-processed products already account for a significant share of Africa’s regional exports, indicating that value addition is not solely a future ambition but an existing component of intra-African commerce.
Youssouf also linked economic transformation to institutional capacity, effective regulation and political stability. The African Union has continued to emphasise conflict prevention, mediation, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction as part of its wider continental agenda.
Guterres, speaking at the same gathering, similarly argued that Africa’s natural resources should generate greater local economic value and employment rather than being exported primarily in unprocessed form.
Unstoppable Africa 2026 is designed to connect these policy priorities with investment and commercial activity. According to GABI, the fifth edition is focused on investment, infrastructure, cross-border partnerships and strengthening African ownership and value creation.
The challenge, however, extends beyond changing the destination of African commodities. Building competitive value chains requires sustained investment in energy, logistics, skills, finance, technology, standards and institutions, while African markets themselves remain diverse in regulatory systems, infrastructure and levels of industrial capacity.
Youssouf’s intervention therefore places African economic agency within a broader process of continental integration: not isolation from global markets, but greater capacity for African economies and businesses to participate in those markets from stronger positions, with more production, ownership and value retained on the continent.
“The message is clear: Africa must invest in Africa,” he said.
