Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has urged African governments and business leaders to place women, young people and small businesses at the centre of the continent’s economic integration drive, warning that Africa cannot achieve shared prosperity if these groups remain excluded.
Speaking on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama at the Africa Prosperity Dialogues 2026 in Accra on Wednesday, the Vice President said Africa’s development agenda must shift from dependency to self-reliance and from fragmentation to deeper regional integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“A future that excludes young people, women and small enterprises is not one we can afford to sleepwalk into,” she told participants, including heads of state, ministers, financiers and captains of industry.
She described the annual dialogues as an important advocacy platform that complements the work of the AfCFTA Secretariat, which is headquartered in Accra, to promote intra-African trade, investment and mobility.
Delivering the President’s message, Prof Opoku-Agyemang reiterated Ghana’s commitment to a continental “reset” — an economic transformation aimed at building prosperity at home rather than exporting raw potential.
“The idea of a reset is to move us from dependency to self-reliance, from fragmentation to integration, from exporting potential to building prosperity at home,” she said.
She noted that the AfCFTA represents a historic opportunity as the world’s largest free trade area by number of participating countries, covering a market of about 1.3 billion people.
Within that market, she said, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remain critical drivers of growth, accounting for more than 80 percent of employment across Africa and a significant share of GDP.
In Ghana, she added, SMEs have continued to show resilience and competitiveness despite economic pressures.
The Vice President also highlighted the role of women and young people in enterprise, pointing out that women make up nearly half of Africa’s workforce while youth constitute more than 60 percent of the continent’s population and are leading innovation across technology and creative industries.
However, she acknowledged persistent barriers that limit their participation in cross-border trade.
“Fewer than 20 percent of SMEs engage in export trade. Women continue to face unequal barriers to finance, mobility and market access. Many young people still lack the capital, skills and institutional support needed to scale their ideas across borders,” she said.
Without deliberate intervention, she warned, African economies risk remaining trapped in low-productivity models that rely on exporting raw materials while importing finished goods, forcing many young people to seek opportunities abroad.
To reverse this trend, Prof Opoku-Agyemang called for expanded intra-African trade, stronger industrial policies, investments in infrastructure and connectivity, and the strengthening of institutions and governance systems.
She outlined Ghana’s contribution to this agenda, citing the government’s proposed 24-hour economy initiative to boost productivity and reduce business bottlenecks, as well as a “Big Push” infrastructure programme aimed at supporting trade and industrial growth.
She stressed that governments must develop long-term policies, strengthen development finance institutions and pursue regional projects that match the scale of Africa’s ambitions.
“Africa must unite. This is not about erasing sovereignty. It is about organizing our sovereignty in service of shared prosperity and our markets,” she said.
According to her, the ultimate goal is to ensure that entrepreneurs and manufacturers across the continent see Africa as one connected market rather than fragmented national economies.
She urged stakeholders to translate conference discussions into concrete outcomes.
“This conference should be remembered for what was discussed, what was launched, what was committed to and ultimately what was delivered,” she said.
The Africa Prosperity Dialogues bring together policymakers, investors and business leaders to explore practical strategies for accelerating trade, investment and inclusive growth under the AfCFTA framework.
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