Africa urged to shift from exporting raw commodities to building value-added trade

Ghana International Bank (GHIB) has concluded its flagship forum, GHIBCONVERGE 2025, with a call for Africa to shift from exporting raw commodities to building value-added trade backed by sustainable finance. The three-day event, held in London from August 6–8, brought together central bank officials, industry leaders, and development experts to discuss strategies for refining, financing, […]

Ghana International Bank (GHIB) has concluded its flagship forum, GHIBCONVERGE 2025, with a call for Africa to shift from exporting raw commodities to building value-added trade backed by sustainable finance.

The three-day event, held in London from August 6–8, brought together central bank officials, industry leaders, and development experts to discuss strategies for refining, financing, and integrating African commodity trade.

GHIB Chief Executive Officer Dean Adansi urged policymakers and financiers to align in order to unlock billions in untapped export earnings through processing industries such as cocoa, gold, and cashew. “We are sitting on untapped billions in export revenues because we continue to export raw cocoa instead of chocolate, raw gold instead of refined bullion,” he said.

Speakers included Governor Buah Saidy of the Central Bank of The Gambia, who stressed the role of domestic refining in strengthening reserves, and Ghana’s Deputy Governor Dr. Zakaria Mumuni, who highlighted the importance of expanding gold refining capacity. Lord Paul Boateng, former UK Cabinet Minister and GHIB Board Member, called on African nations to treat critical minerals and other resources as geopolitical assets in global negotiations.

The forum also featured discussions on commodity financing models, sustainability, and technology adoption, while GHIB announced a new partnership with Vista Bank and presented its inaugural “Trader of the Year” award to Niche Cocoa CEO Edmund Poku.

GHIB said the conference reaffirmed its commitment to bridging African opportunities with global capital.