Private Sector Must Drive Africa’s Industrial Transformation — Sir Sam Jonah

Businessman and Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Sir Sam Jonah, has called for African economies to put the private sector at the heart of the continent’s industrialisation and trade reforms, arguing that sustainable transformation will not occur without a strong, empowered business community.

Speaking at the launch of the Africa Trade Summit 2026, Sir Sam highlighted Africa’s long-standing dependence on exporting raw materials while importing finished goods, a pattern he said has denied the continent real value for more than five decades and led to the outsourcing of jobs and technology.

“For more than half a century, we have exported cocoa, gold, timber, oil, and bauxite, yet the jobs, technologies, and real value of those resources have been created elsewhere,” he stressed.

He warned that this model is unsustainable.


“Every time we ship out our raw materials and import finished products, we effectively export jobs and import unemployment. We cannot and must not industrialise if we continue to feed other people’s factories instead of building our own,” he said.

Sir Sam emphasised that true economic transformation will not emerge from policy documents or endless meetings.


“The transformation we seek will not happen in ministry conference rooms, in committees, or in reports but it will rather happen in the real world, through businesses, factories operating consistently, entrepreneurs solving problems, investors making long-term commitments, and regional supply chains connecting producers to markets. That is why the private sector must be at the centre of Africa’s industrial and trade transformation,” he noted.

He urged African countries to take inspiration from Asian economies such as Singapore, South Korea, and China, whose disciplined industrial strategies accelerated their economic rise.

“If Singapore, with no natural resources, could build industries from scratch, what excuse do we have with all the wealth we possess. We cannot continue to admire Asian success from a distance. We must apply the principles: discipline, long-term vision, private-sector partnerships, and regional integration,” he stated.