ABUJA – The restructuring of global supply chains away from heavy dependence on China presents Africa with one of its biggest industrialisation opportunities in a generation, but the continent must move decisively to attract investment, build regional manufacturing hubs and add value to its mineral wealth, World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said.
Speaking at the Emerging Markets Forum in Abuja during a discussion with Yemi Cardoso, Okonjo-Iweala said multinational companies are increasingly redesigning their production networks in response to geopolitical tensions, trade disputes and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The need now is to diversify supply chains and supply routes, not to be so concentrated,” she said, describing the shift as a rare opportunity for African economies to become integral parts of global manufacturing networks.
For decades, China has dominated global manufacturing, but businesses are increasingly adopting “China Plus One” strategies, expanding production into multiple markets to improve resilience and reduce geopolitical risk. Okonjo-Iweala argued that Africa is well positioned to benefit—provided governments create an environment that is attractive to investors.
She said success would depend on improving infrastructure, strengthening institutions, ensuring policy consistency and removing bureaucratic obstacles that continue to raise the cost of doing business across much of the continent.
Rather than competing individually for investment, the WTO chief urged African countries to leverage regional integration by building cross-border industrial value chains anchored on the continent’s abundant reserves of critical minerals.
“I don’t think it should be just a country-by-country affair,” she said, calling for neighbouring countries to collaborate on mineral processing and downstream manufacturing instead of exporting unprocessed commodities.
Africa possesses a significant share of the world’s reserves of minerals essential for electric vehicles, battery production, renewable energy systems and advanced technologies. However, most of these resources continue to be exported in raw form, leaving much of the value creation to overseas manufacturers.
Okonjo-Iweala said the continent should focus on developing industries that process minerals domestically before expanding into higher-value manufacturing, including battery components and other clean energy technologies.
She cautioned that the opportunity is far from guaranteed, warning that Africa faces intense competition from manufacturing centres in Asia and Latin America, where governments have aggressively implemented industrial policies to attract global investors.
“It will not fall on our lap,” she said, stressing that investors will favour countries that demonstrate transparent governance, efficient public institutions and long-term policy stability.
The WTO chief also warned that African governments should prepare for a changing international financing landscape, where foreign aid and development funding are likely to become more constrained.
“We can’t expect the same flows of resources,” she said, urging governments to mobilise domestic savings and investment while creating stronger incentives for private sector participation.
Her remarks echoed growing calls by African policymakers for deeper domestic capital markets to finance industrialisation, infrastructure and economic transformation.
Okonjo-Iweala also renewed calls for faster implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, arguing that a more integrated African market is essential for creating competitive regional supply chains capable of serving global manufacturers.
By reducing barriers to intra-African trade, harmonising regulations and improving cross-border logistics, she said the continent can create economies of scale that make African manufacturing more globally competitive.
As companies continue to diversify production footprints beyond China, Okonjo-Iweala said Africa has a limited window to position itself as a preferred investment destination.
Her message to policymakers was unequivocal: countries that invest in infrastructure, improve governance, strengthen regional cooperation and prioritise value-added manufacturing will be best placed to capture the next wave of global industrial investment, while those that continue relying on raw commodity exports risk being left behind.
Source: Business Insider Africa
