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President John Dramani Mahama has called on African countries to invest boldly in skills development, industrial capacity and continental unity, warning that failure to act decisively could leave the continent permanently behind in a fast-changing global economy.
Addressing global political and business leaders at the Accra Reset Davos Convening Event on Thursday, January 22, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, President Mahama said the world had reached a critical inflection point where countries must “compete, innovate, and build or be left behind.”
He warned that the post-World War II multilateral system was weakening, with global relations becoming increasingly transactional and unilateral, while humanitarian assistance and official development aid to Africa were shrinking.
“Africa must pull itself up by its own bootstraps,” President Mahama said, stressing that dependency on donors, external security guarantees and raw material exports without value addition had become a trap for many African economies.
Reflecting on Africa’s post-independence journey, the President said the continent had made progress but remained burdened by cycles of conflict, poverty and underdevelopment. He argued that Africa must now insist on having a seat at the table in shaping the emerging global order.
President Mahama cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a wake-up call, noting that Africa was the last continent to receive vaccines during the crisis. He said the experience underscored the urgent need for Africa to build its own productive, scientific and industrial capacity.
He used the occasion to highlight the Accra Reset Initiative, which he said was launched not as a declaration or wish list, but as a practical response to the questions being asked by millions of young Africans about their future in a changing world.
“In Ghana, we are answering that question by resetting our country—cutting waste, restoring hope, and building systems that work,” he said.
The President pointed to Ghana’s recent economic recovery, describing a turnaround from a debt-distressed economy to one marked by macroeconomic stability, single-digit inflation, a strengthened currency and renewed business confidence. However, he stressed that Ghana’s progress alone was insufficient.
“We cannot be a jewel in the dirt,” he said, adding that Africa must knit together isolated success stories into a collective development model.
President Mahama identified what he described as Africa’s “triple dependency”: reliance on others for security, dependence on donors for health and education systems, and exporting critical minerals while capturing little value. He argued that true sovereignty could only be achieved by building domestic and regional capacity.
He outlined five priorities for Africa’s transformation: investing in job-relevant skills, building regional industrial and infrastructure platforms, negotiating collectively on minerals and trade, producing critical goods locally, and holding governments accountable to their people through reforms that deliver results.
“No African country can industrialise alone,” he said, urging stronger regional cooperation to create manufacturing hubs, shared energy systems and digital infrastructure capable of generating millions of jobs.
President Mahama also called for a new form of global partnership based on mutual respect rather than charity, saying the Accra Reset seeks to enable Global South countries to co-design development programmes and shape investment around their priorities.
He concluded with a call to African and global leaders to show courage and act collectively, warning that Africa’s young people are watching and running out of patience.
“The question is not whether the world needs this,” he said. “The question is whether we have the courage to build it.”
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