The Central Bank governor, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso alongaide the Director General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala have called for accelerated action on intra African trade noting that the current rate is too low to drive significant growth on the continent
Both parties made the call in Abuja on Wednesday at the opening session of the 7th Africa Emerging Markets Forum on the theme “Building Africa’s Resilience in a Global Economic Order,”
During a keynote address, Cardoso noted that for Africa and other emerging markets, the question is no longer whether the global order is changing, but how Africa can turn that change from a source of vulnerability into a source of growth and shared prosperity.
The CBN governor also highlighted three major shifts that will shape Africa’s opportunities in the changing global environment which starts with accelerated action on intra african trade.
“First, trade is fragmenting. Geo-economic considerations are causing countries to look inward and to reorganize trade and critical supply chains around trusted partners and neighboring markets.
“For Africa, this change is both a warning and an opportunity. With intra-African trade still accounting for only about 16 percent of our total trade, we must build stronger regional value chains, produce more of what we consume, and trade more with one another. The African continental free trade area provides the platform and opportunity to turn this global shift to an African advantage,”
He also warned against too many memorandum of understandings, saying that “We must go beyond the agreements and remove the practical barriers to trade by improving transport networks, harmonizing customs standards, and making cross-border payments faster and more affordable. Second, capital has become selective and impatient. The era of abundant liquidity, chasing returns regardless of risk, is over,”
Furthermore, the CBN governor said, “Investors now have more choices and less tolerance for uncertainty. Capital increasingly flows to a fullness that offers credibility, transparency, quality, consistency, and strong institutions. For Africa, this means that our development ambitions cannot depend solely on attracting foreign capital.
Domestic mobilisation critical
Speaking further, Cardoso stated that “Africa must mobilize more of our own resources, including pension and insurance funds, domestic savings and diaspora capital, and channel them towards productive domestic investment. It also means that there is a premium on the quality of Africa’s institutions. Investors must be able to trust our policies, understand our rules, and plan beyond the next political or economic cycle.
“So credibility is not only a central bank concern, it is a national economic asset. Third, artificial intelligence is reshaping economic activity. It is changing how goods are produced, how services are delivered, and the skills required to compete.
We must become creators, developing African solutions to African challenges, and building businesses capable of taking those solutions to the world. To achieve this, Africa must invest in the foundations of an AI-enabled economy, including reliable electricity, affordable connectivity, digital infrastructure, and above all, a generation of AI-savvy young Africans ready to build solutions for the continent and to compete globally. Nigeria’s recent experience demonstrates how an emerging market economy can respond to these shifts,” he added
On reforms, he highlighted that “Over the past three years, CBN made difficult but necessary policy decisions to restore stability, rebuild confidence, and strengthen the economy’s capacity to withstand shocks. At the Central Bank of Nigeria, we returned firmly to our core mandate. We unified the exchange rate, restored price discovery, ended monetary financing of fiscal deficits, and rebuilt the foreign exchange market around transparency and settlement integrity,”
Furthermore, he said “There is need to create capital that creates productive capacity. We must mobilize Africa’s pensions, insurance assets, domestic savings, and diaspora wealth. We must also seek foreign investment that creates jobs, transfers technology, develops local supplies, and strengthens African businesses, not investment that simply extracts value and needs.
” We must prepare young Africans for an AI-enabled economy and unlock the full economic participation of women, because Africa cannot fly with one wing. Africa must be an Africa in which young entrepreneurs can build, scale, and compete without having to leave the continent to realize their potential elsewhere,”
Also on the fireside chat, he noted that one way for MSMEs to grow, developmental finance institutions must be supported, although it will require strategic collaboration, credible institutions, and courage to act together.
He added that the return of the CBN to othordox banking is what has brought stability to the Central Bank
Cardoso also predicts that overtime, interests rates will begin to moderate
He added that the recent bank recapitalisation saw 75 per cent of funds moblised domestically, while affirming that confidenxe has now returned to Nigeria’s financial market
He concluded by saying that “Nigeria must stay the course, be disciplined and ensuring that the policy implementation is actualised.
Nigeria, Africa must trade, moblise capital within – Okonjo-Iweala
Also, speaking during the foreside chat, the WTO DG noted that there is alot of hidden resources that needs to moblised across Nigeria and other African countries.
“There is alot of money hidden under mattresses. For instance in Abuja, alot of construction boom is ongoing and we need to mobilise investments. You cannot attract foreign investments if domestic investors are not investing
“Nigeria must create wealth. We have 60 per cent of West Africa’s GDP and we’ve got to get it right. We must also have leaders who have the interest of citizens at heart. Asking real questions on how we can make our place look attractive.
She argued that Africa can do.more with its current trade volume.
“Why can’t we move from 20 per cent to 40 per cent EU is at 60.per cent. I am not saying we have to equal them, but lets trade among ourselves. We have 800m Africans who will be middle class soon, we have alot going for us and it wont happen except we drive it. So 10yrs from now, we will have a continent where young people are willing to stay and not to leave
She said that one high potential sector that Africa hold is critical minerals, where the green transition is driving demand for lithium, bauxite or cobalt, and other elements necessary to manufacture EV batteries and other low-carbon goods.
“Africa holds an estimated 30% of the world’s known mineral reserves, and estimates for Latin America are similar.
“For Africa in particular, instead of the extract and export model that has been the source of so much volatility, economic underperformance such as corruption, conflict and banditry has stunded the growth,”
She therefore said, “The goal should be higher value, higher productivity growth, driven by the development of sub-regional value chains and integration into potential supply networks. Point branding, the time to seize this opportunity is now, as geopolitics exerts some demand pressure for critical mineral supply chain diversification. If we miss this opportunity, I’m afraid we will have missed a lot.
“These efforts need more systematization and harmonization, including a look at sub-regional approaches so that countries are not picked up one by one in sub-optimal bilateral agreements,”
Speaking more on what Africa can do, she said “The continent can seize green comparative advantages by harnessing abundant renewable energy potential to power minerals processing. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude by noting that these two paths to global trade resilience, reforming the multilateral trading system and broadening the global economic base, are deeply complementary.
” To attract the kind of investments we’ve been talking about, developing countries will need to improve their business climate, upgrade hard and soft infrastructure and provide a stable macroeconomic environment,”
Okonjo-Iweala further advised that Nigeria needs to continue the work on overall macroeconomic reforms with a careful approach to fiscal issues, contracting of debt and debt management. Above all, Nigeria needs to focus on creating jobs and economic opportunities for a young and hungry population.
“Nigerians have to feel the dividends of reform in the real economy. Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, instead of negative feedback loops of uncertainty, fragmentation and slow growth, we have an opportunity to build positive feedback loops of reformed growth, greater certainty and improve the economic prospects of people and businesses everywhere. As we work together to find bridges across the deadly fault lines dividing our world, let us draw inspiration from Dr Martin Luther King’s reminder that, and I quote, all mankind are tied together.
Earlier, Sani Abdullahi, deputy governor of CBN on corporate services, said Africa must increasingly shape its future through African-led ideas, institutions and policy solutions.
The deputy governor said the continent faces significant challenges, including geopolitical tensions, inflationary pressures, food insecurity and climate change, but also possesses vast opportunities through digital innovation, renewable energy, regional integration and a growing youthful population.
Abdullahi said the forum would focus on practical, evidence-based policy solutions to strengthen governance, improve economic resilience and promote inclusive growth across the continent.