The Chairman of SIFAX Group, Taiwo Afolabi, has asserted that African countries must deliberately dismantle economic borders and foster larger corporate entities if the continent is to achieve meaningful, long-term economic independence and competitiveness on the global stage.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, Afolabi argued that Africa’s current reliance on fragmented, small-scale enterprises is actively choking its economic potential and insisted that sustainable growth will remain out of reach without a radical shift towards cross-border collaboration.
The corporate chief emphasised that the continent’s next developmental chapter cannot be written by isolated businesses.
“Africa cannot achieve its full economic potential with thousands of weak and fragmented businesses operating in silos. What the continent needs are strong institutions and large corporations that can survive beyond their founders, scale across borders, attract global capital, and compete with the best companies around the world,” Afolabi said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
While acknowledging that grassroots entrepreneurship has historically driven local economies, Afolabi noted that a structural evolution is long overdue.
