Africa Shifts Trade Strategy Away From External Funding; Regional Finance Takes Lead

ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire. A three-day gathering at the African Development Bank Group headquarters closed this month with a clear institutional signal: Africa’s economic policymakers are repositioning the continent’s trade and development strategy around self-sufficiency, regional value chains, and coordinated financing, not external dependency.

The African Economic Conference, held from 10 to 12 July, brought together economists, researchers, policymakers and development experts to examine how African economies can navigate global uncertainty and build geopolitical agency. The African Development Bank Group, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) jointly organised the event, with a stated focus on practical policy solutions.

Marie-Laure Akin Olugbade, Senior Vice President at the African Development Bank Group, said the discussions had yielded insights into the policies needed to strengthen Africa’s economic position and trade resilience. She described the outputs as valuable strategic direction for the continent’s economic future.

Meanwhile, Raymond Gilpin, Chief Economist and Head of Strategy, Analysis and Research at UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa, acknowledged that global economic challenges would continue to test African institutions. He argued, however, that these pressures would not diminish the continent’s underlying human potential. Gilpin called for stronger partnerships and coordinated efforts to build the resilient Africa that both its people and the wider world require.

The interconnectedness of economic policy emerged as a central theme. Ida McDonnell, Senior Policy Advisor on Development Policy, Finance and Performance at the OECD, stressed the importance of integrated policymaking, noting that trade, debt, investment, climate action and development finance are increasingly interlinked. That framing signals a shift toward viewing African economic challenges not as isolated problems but as components of a broader system requiring coordinated solutions, a perspective with direct implications for how development capital is structured and deployed.

Ahunna Eziakonwa, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa Director, outlined a framework for building Africa’s influence in a multipolar world. She urged stakeholders to remove trade barriers, invest in innovation, strengthen regional value chains and empower young people. Her core argument was pointed: Africa’s influence would depend on building its own economic strength rather than relying on external alliances. That position reframes the continent’s economic strategy around internal capacity and self-generated growth, not aid flows or geopolitical patronage.

The conference also hosted the Global Network of Chief Economists of Development and Financing Institutions meeting and launched the African Chief Economists Network, known as the ACE Network. The new platform establishes an institutional channel for ongoing dialogue among Africa’s economic leadership, and how effectively it translates conference consensus into coordinated financing decisions will be the real test of its value.