Africa Trade Summit 2026 concludes in Accra with call for urgent action on industrialisation and regional value chains

The inaugural Africa Trade Summit concluded in Accra with a strong call for urgent, coordinated action to finance Africa’s industrialisation, deepen regional value chains, and unlock the full potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Convened by the African Trade Chamber in partnership with the Government of Ghana, the Summit brought together senior policymakers, business leaders, investors, development finance institutions, and multilateral partners from across Africa and beyond to advance a private sector–led agenda for Africa’s economic transformation.

Opening the Summit, John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, framed Africa’s economic moment as historic, stressing that political independence without economic transformation remains incomplete. He emphasised that Africa must decisively move away from an extractive economic model towards manufacturing, beneficiation, and integrated regional value chains, supported by long-term, affordable finance.

The President highlighted the importance of mobilising domestic resources, unlocking institutional capital such as pension and insurance funds, strengthening development finance institutions, and deploying blended finance mechanisms to de-risk industrial investment, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. He further underscored that policy stability, infrastructure reliability, and respect for the rule of law are essential to attracting sustained private sector investment.

In her welcome address, the Executive Chair of the African Trade Chamber, Benedicta Lasi, described the Summit as a response to a narrowing global window, noting that global supply chains are being reconfigured in real time. She challenged African governments and businesses to move beyond fragmented national strategies toward coordinated regional production systems, stressing that Africa cannot industrialise through competition among neighbours, but through alignment across corridors, value chains, and markets.

The Africa Trade Summit 2026 took place from 28–29 January 2026 at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, Accra, convening over 1,500 delegates, with approximately 20% drawn from other African countries, reflecting the Summit’s strong pan-African reach and continental relevance.

Day Two of the Summit featured a series of parallel high-level roundtable discussions focused on the practical delivery of Africa’s industrial transformation. These included sectoral roundtables on Mining, Minerals and Strategic Resources; Agro-Processing, Food Systems and Agro-Industrial Corridors; Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Health Industrialisation; and Energy, Infrastructure and Trade Connectivity. Additional high-level sessions addressed Investment Promotion and Bankability, alongside Inclusive Industrial Growth, with dedicated discussions on scaling SMEs, youth- and women-led enterprises, and innovation systems as central drivers of Africa’s industrial future.

The Summit concluded with the Africa Trade Awards Gala, recognising institutions, policymakers, and business leaders delivering measurable progress in industrial development, value addition, and intra-African trade, reinforcing the Summit’s emphasis on execution, investment readiness, and regional value chain development.

The Africa Trade Summit is expected to serve as a permanent continental platform for advancing private sector leadership, policy alignment, and investment mobilisation in support of Africa’s industrial and trade transformation.