Some stakeholders have called on Africans to think, produce and consume goods produced on the continent to promote African growth and development.
They made the call at the 2023 Africa Economic Conference (AEC) in Addis-Ababa on Thursday.
They spoke during a plenary on how Africa could leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to spur sustainable, inclusive industrialisation.
AfCFTA aims to unite 54 diverse economies, creating a single market for 1.5 billion people in Africa.
The stakeholders urged African countries to prioritise equitable market access, reduce trade barriers, and promote fair competition to implement the AfCFTA.
Kevin Urama, AfDB chief economist and vice-president, said there was a need for Africans to focus on infrastructure development on the continent.
“To fully implement the AfCFTA, African member states should prioritise production with a focus on manufacturing. We need to invest more in hard infrastructure such as roads, rails, and airlines for moving goods to market and to improve on factors of production and manufactured goods.
”Trade barriers among countries are still a challenge, making trade difficult. Thus, there is a need to address this challenge. There is a need to also invest in border agencies and customs to remove the barriers and improve the efficacy of AfCFTA,” stated Mr Urama.
Melaku Alebel, Ethiopia’s minister of industry, said export and import promotion was crucial to enhance the manufacturing sector on the continent.