Africa’s economic reset requires moving from ambition to execution

Africa’s economic transformation will depend not on the agreements, institutions and capital already available on the continent, but on our ability to make them work together for the common good. 

This was the central message from Professor Edward Kieswetter when he delivered the keynote address during the opening plenary of the inaugural Africa Commerce Convergence Summit (ACCS) held in Livingstone, Zambia recently. 

The ACCS saw three key professional bodies from across Africa join for the first time to host concurrent conferences. They are the African Marketing Confederation (AMC), Technology Information Confederation Africa (TICON Africa) and African Supply Chain Confederation (ASCON). 

Professor Kieswetter is a prominent social activist, academic, business leader and former Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service. His keynote address focused on the theme ‘Africa’s Economic Reset: Mobilising Capital, Revenue and Trade for Industrialisation’. 

Drawing on Livingstone’s location on the banks of the Zambezi River at Victoria Falls, Kieswetter argued that Africa’s economic potential lies in the convergence of many separate ‘tributaries’ – people, institutions, policies, regulations and agreements – to create a collective force capable of delivering meaningful economic and social impact. 

“The Zambezi gathers itself from various sources spanning eight countries … a thousand tributaries that, at some point, converge to become the single most powerful column of falling water on the continent. Not because any one of the tributaries grew larger, but because they all came together. 

“Institutions, when separated, are limited in their impact,” he told delegates from more than 25 countries attending the summit. “The effort is disconnected and misaligned. Each impact is sub-optimal, so the common good and social impact for ordinary Africans remains sub-optimal. We have never quite built the confluence point of our individual efforts to optimise our beloved continent.” 

Four vital elements must converge 

He identified four elements that must converge if the continent is to achieve a meaningful economic reset: capital, revenue, trade and industrialisation. 

Looking at capital, Africa’s small- and medium-sized enterprises face a financing gap of approximately US$31-billion annually. Yet, Kieswetter argued, the fundamental problem is not the absence of money, but the failure to connect existing capital effectively with enterprises capable of putting it to productive use. 

Revenue presents a second challenge. Africa’s average tax-to-GDP ratio is estimated at around 16%, compared with more than 30% across the OECD. At the same time, an estimated $81.6-billion leaves the continent each year through illicit financial flows.  

Improving the ability of African countries to capture economic activity within formal taxation systems, he said, could significantly strengthen domestic resources for development. 

Discussing the third component of trade, Kieswetter noted that despite the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), intra-African trade remains low, at an estimated 15-18% of total trade, By comparison, intra-regional trade approaches 60% in Europe and Asia. Africa, he emphasised, still finds it easier to trade with the rest of the world than with itself. 

The fourth pillar is industrialisation. Africa accounts for only around 1.5% of global manufacturing, while just 14% of exports leave the continent as value-added goods. Meanwhile, about 80% of what African consume is imported. 

You can read more about the Africa Commerce Convergence Summit and 2026 AMC Conference in the current issue (Issue 3 2026) of Strategic Marketing for Africa, the magazine of the African Marketing Confederation (AMC). 

Find the Digital Edition here. The Print Edition will be available shortly.