The recently launched report “Why Europe Must Pivot South”, which I co-authored, arrives at a critical juncture in global affairs. It is a compelling call for Europe to reframe its relationship with Africa—not through the lens of development aid, but through a strategic alliance shaped by mutual interest and shared prosperity. For Africa, this moment is not simply about attracting more attention from Europe. It is about asserting its role as a central actor in the global economic order and demanding partnerships that reflect its growing agency. Africa is no longer the passive recipient of foreign agendas. With a population set to double by 2050, a rapidly urbanising middle class, and an abundance of critical minerals essential to the green transition, the continent holds considerable leverage. It is the youngest continent, the most resource-rich, and home to one of the world’s most ambitious integration projects—the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). These are not trivial attributes; they are the foundations of a new African future, and the world is taking notice. China and Russia have already recalibrated their approach. China, through its Belt and Road Initiative and continued infrastructure investments, is deepening its economic footprint. Russia, meanwhile, is capitalising on Western retreat by expanding its influence through energy and military cooperation. Even the United States, under a Trump-led foreign policy shift, has moved towards a more transactional approach, suspending aid and reprioritising strategic influence. These dynamics leave a significant vacuum—one that Europe can fill if it embraces a relationship built on co-creation, not paternalism. From Africa’s perspective, the real question is whether Europe can unlearn its old habits. The report makes clear that the EU’s engagement has often been slow, overly bureaucratic, and shaped by a top-down approach that fails to align with African realities. The Global Gateway Initiative, Europe’s flagship response to China's infrastructure diplomacy, is a case in point. Though promising in its ambition, its implementation has been marred by lack of clarity, inadequate African involvement, and a sense that it is more about European image than African impact. If Europe is to remain a relevant partner, it must align with Africa’s development agenda. That means supporting industrialisation, infrastructure connectivity, and energy access—not through rigid conditionality, but by enabling African countries to build capacity and resilience on their own terms. It also means supporting Africa’s ambitions to add value to its own resources, moving away from an extractive model of trade to one that fosters processing, innovation, and intra-African trade. Africa does not seek favours. It seeks partners who understand that investing in Africa is investing in global stability and shared prosperity. With global supply chains being reconfigured and climate pressures intensifying, Africa's centrality to green energy, food security, and labour force dynamics will only grow. In this light, Europe’s pivot to Africa is not charity—it is strategy. Migration is a further frontier where Europe and Africa must engage differently. Framing migration as a crisis undermines the demographic complementarity between both continents. Europe's ageing population and Africa’s young workforce offer a natural fit. But this requires a shift from deterrence-based migration policies to forward-looking labour mobility frameworks, coupled with real investment in economic opportunity at the source. The time has come for a new Europe-Africa compact—one that recognises the complexity of today’s geopolitical context and places Africa as a co-designer of global solutions. Africa is not merely responding to global trends; it is shaping them. Europe must meet this reality not with nostalgia, but with vision. And for Africa, this is the moment to redefine its partnerships—not out of need, but out of power. The author is an economist.
