Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare
The Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, has called for urgent harmonisation of standards across Africa, warning that fragmented regulatory regimes are undermining the continent’s industrialisation drive and the full benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Speaking at a high-level Ministerial Dialogue on “Accelerating Africa’s Industrial Transformation: Converting Extraction into Value and Building Industrial Champions” at the Africa Trade Summit in Accra, the Minister said African producers continue to face unnecessary costs and delays due to duplicative testing and certification requirements.
She cited instances where Ghanaian products approved by national regulatory bodies are subjected to fresh testing in other African countries, describing the practice as wasteful and detrimental to competitiveness under AfCFTA.
Ms. Ofosu-Adjare stressed that standardisation remains one of the most practical tools for accelerating industrialisation, facilitating intra-African trade, and ensuring the free movement of goods across borders.
Beyond standards, she identified raw material shortages, high financing costs, land constraints, and limited access to incentives as persistent challenges confronting industries on the continent. She noted that factories cannot operate efficiently without a reliable and steady supply of inputs.
The Minister said Ghana had rolled out the Feed the Industry Programme, which links agribusiness production directly to industrial demand by mobilising land, youth, and irrigation infrastructure to guarantee consistent raw material supply, particularly for export-oriented manufacturers, to address these gaps.
She also disclosed that Ghana had banned the export of certain non-ferrous raw materials to ensure value addition locally before export, a policy aimed at securing inputs for domestic industries and strengthening local manufacturing capacity.
On financing, the Minister said improved macroeconomic stability has helped stabilise interest rates, while institutions such as the Ghana EXIM Bank are supporting export-focused industries.
She, however, called for innovative blended financing models that combine public funds, private capital, development finance, and donor support to ease the burden on manufacturers.
Ms. Ofosu-Adjare highlighted textiles and garments, pharmaceuticals, and automotive component manufacturing as priority sectors, urging governments to focus on areas of competitive advantage and provide targeted incentives.
She further advocated stronger regional value chains, stressing that African countries must collaborate rather than compete in isolation to fully exploit AfCFTA opportunities.
Supporting the call, UNIDO Deputy Director-General, Fatou Haidara, said AfCFTA would not reach its potential without coordinated regional industrial strategies, while Liberia’s Commerce and Industry Minister, Magdalene Dagoseh, pointed to weak political will, skills gaps, and slow implementation as key obstacles to Africa’s industrial integration.
A Daily Guide Report