Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang last night joined leaders from across the continent to honour individuals and institutions driving African trade and industrialization at the Africa Trade Awards 2026.
African enterprises, particularly SMEs, are processing, manufacturing, and creating, all which generate jobs and expand regional trade.
With the African Continental Free Trade Area now in force, Africa has established the world’s largest free trade area by number of countries. While the promise is immense, intra-African trade still represents a modest share of total trade. This underscores a central truth: agreements alone do not deliver integration. We need infrastructure, capable institutions, and sustained political will. As earlier African leaders such as Dr. Kwame Nkrumah understood, political independence without economic independence remains incomplete.
Pan-African integration is therefore essential to Africa’s economic sovereignty.
Vice President Opoku -Agyemang said, ”this means processing our resources, building our infrastructure, and favoring continuity and consistency”.
”Regional integration succeeds when commitments are implemented consistently, standards are mutually recognised, transport and communication systems function effectively, and institutions retain public trust”, the Vice President noted.
Industrialisation and regional integration are long-term projects, built patiently through coordination and sustained investment. Short-termism undermines reform, weakens institutions, and erodes confidence. Africa’s transformation will ultimately be judged not by declarations alone, but by competitiveness, reduced trade costs, resilient infrastructure, and trusted governance.
She reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to playing an active role in this continental transformation. Through initiatives such as the 24-Hour Economy, Ghana is unlocking productivity by laligning infrastructure, finance, and institutions to remove inefficiencies. This is complemented by the Government’s broader infrastructure and industrialisation agenda, which supports trade, value addition, and job creation. Africa’s youth, women, entrepreneurs, and innovators are central to this vision. Our transformation will not happen by destiny, but through deliberate partnership, discipline, unity, and sustained action.
Professor Opoku- Agyemang on behalf of His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama, congratulated the award recipients for their leadership and innovation.
