Africa Must Rethink Value Chains to Build Economic Power – Fatima Ali Mohammed
Chief Executive Officer of African Brand Warrior, Madam Fatima Ali Mohammed, has called for a radical rethink of Africa’s approach to value addition and trade, arguing that the continent’s overdependence on exporting raw commodities continues to undermine its economic sovereignty and global competitiveness.
Speaking during a panel discussion at the 14th Ghana Economic Forum on the theme, “Value Addition for Currency Stability: Transforming Agriculture into an Industrial Powerhouse,” Madam Fatima criticised Africa’s passive participation in global markets, noting that the continent has become the world’s food basket yet remains poor and import-dependent.
“We keep talking about the cost of living, but nobody is talking about the cost to live,” she remarked. “As Africans, we still measure poverty under a dollar a day, but what does that really mean in today’s global context?”
She highlighted emerging global consumer practices such as carbon credit-based purchasing systems in developed economies, which could eventually restrict Africa’s access to export markets. “If exporting food from Africa contributes higher carbon credit, it means the West is already putting purchase limits on what its citizens can consume. So who will buy our food when those limits take effect?” she questioned.
Using cocoa as an example, Madam Fatima argued that Africa’s internal consumption potential remains largely untapped. “Between Ghana and neighbouring producers, we generate about three billion tonnes of cocoa. Even if half of Africa’s 1.5 billion people consumed cocoa drinks twice a year, we could absorb the entire production domestically,” she explained.
She criticised what she described as a culture of “NATO — No Action, Talk Only” among African leaders and policymakers. “We talk about industrialisation and value addition every year, but we fail to act. Meanwhile, Western economies are imposing tariffs of up to 15% on our exports to protect their own industries,” she said.
Calling for decisive action, Madam Fatima urged African countries to leverage their natural resource endowments strategically, even if it meant temporarily halting the export of raw materials to force global market adjustments.
“We own 65% of the world’s arable land, yet we are hungry. If Africa stopped exporting cocoa, coffee, and gold for just three weeks, the global economy would feel it. We have power but refuse to use it,” she asserted.
Madam Fatima concluded with a challenge to African leaders to prioritise industrialisation, self-sufficiency, and intra-African trade as essential steps toward true economic liberation.
