African leaders have called for urgent action to deepen regional cooperation, process natural resources locally, and build stronger African-led financial institutions to drive the continent’s industrial transformation. Speaking during the presidential panel at the Africa CEO Forum on May 14, Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Gabon’s President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema said Africa can no longer afford to export raw materials while value is created elsewhere. ALSO READ: Kagame: Africa must act together, not merely analyse global crises Their remarks came as political leaders, investors and business executives gathered for the two-day conference held in Kigali. Call for stronger regional collaboration President Tinubu said Africa already has the frameworks needed to unlock its economic potential, but implementation remains the biggest challenge. “Africa needs to put its money where its mouth is. We need to put our money where our mouth is and develop a relationship. Luckily, we have an African trade agreement that should not be left on the drawing board, and should be activated properly.” He said countries must move beyond fragmented approaches and work together to negotiate from a position of strength. Tinubu urged regional collaboration and effective utilisation of our resources, not working in silos but in collaboration with one another, and using what we have. ALSO READ: Africa CEO Forum kicks off in Kigali President Nguema echoed similar sentiments saying Africa must strengthen continental alliances if it is to become a competitive global force. “African countries need to be united to speak in one voice to mutualise the efforts for an Africa that wins,” he said. Drawing comparisons with Europe, he pointed to examples such as the euro, the Schengen visa system and shared industrial structures as evidence of what coordinated economic policy can achieve. “Economic alliances are tools of power. And we also, in Africa, have our economic alliances to be a powerful continent,” Nguema said. Stop raw material exports A key message from both leaders was the need for Africa to stop exporting raw resources without local transformation. Tinubu said his government has moved to ensure strategic minerals are processed locally before export. “Now, no one can take metal out of Nigeria without adding value. No one. Gone were the days where you could excavate the dust, all the minerals, and go,” he said. He said African countries must position themselves to benefit from the growing global demand for critical minerals used in electric vehicle batteries and clean energy systems. “I can produce batteries for cars with my metals. Rare earth minerals are valuable.” ALSO READ: What economists say about impact of Africa CEO Forum The Nigerian leader warned against allowing investors to simply extract resources without contributing to local industrial development. “We don’t want scavengers, we don’t want extractors. We want people to add value.” On his part, Nguema said Gabon’s local processing of manganese has become a national priority. The country holds some of the world’s highest-grade manganese reserves but has exported the mineral in raw form for decades. “We have manganese with the highest grade in the world. And we have been producing manganese for 60 years. Yet it has never been processed here,” he said. He noted that this model has denied the country the full benefits of its natural wealth. “Today, what we want is for this manganese to be processed locally. We no longer want to be satisfied with dividends. Excuse the term, but dividends are a mockery.” “For people who exploit resources in your country and then hand you a dividend check, you do not even know how those dividends were calculated.” The Gabonese leader said companies operating in the sector have been given until 2029 to begin processing locally. “If it does not begin processing by 2029, there are others present here who can come and do the processing.” Push for African financial independence Tinubu also criticised international credit rating agencies, arguing that they often fail to capture Africa’s economic realities. “What do they know about Rwanda? Have they visited Rwanda and seen the potential tourism of this country? And its growth last year of 9.4 percent?” He said Africa should establish its own credit rating agency to provide fairer assessments. “That is why we recapitalise all our financial institutions. Because they give Africa consistently low ratings. You have to help yourself,” Tinubu said. Nguema called on African banks to play a stronger role in financing the continent’s entrepreneurs. “We must know how to invest and support our entrepreneurs with minimal, very low interest rates,” he said. He questioned why African businesses continue to borrow at high rates abroad when resources exist within the continent. “Yet we have money here at home, in Africa.” Investing in youth and transparency Tinubu also called for more investment in research and development, saying Africa’s youth have the capacity to drive innovation if given the right support. “This research and development will get our youths going. They are highly intellectually inquisitive. They will do it. Believe in them.” Both leaders stressed that transparency and accountability remain essential to Africa’s economic ambitions. “We must fight corruption. There must be transparency at every level,” Nguema said. The 2026 edition of the Africa CEO Forum has attracted about 2,800 participants from more than 70 countries, with discussions focused on regional integration, industrialisation, financing and the private sector’s role in Africa’s growth agenda.
