Raw Material Exports Keep Africa Poor, Says Adesina.

The president of African Development Bank(AFDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has called on African Nations to put an end to the export of raw materials, if the continent was to overcome poverty and underdevelopment.

Adesina stressed the need for Africa to shift from being a supplier of unprocessed commodities to a producer of value-added goods in a post on his X handle yesterday. Records from the office of US trade representative and other multilateral institutions, as Africa accounts for less than 2 percent of global manufacturing.

Efforts to change this narrative have gained momentum in recent years, with such initiatives as the African Continental Free Trade Area, AFCFTA, designed to enhance Intra-African trade, boost manufacturing, and encourage value addition across sectors.