Trump’s tariffs: It’s time for Africans to do more business together – Ghana

The Ghanaian foreign affairs minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has said there is no better time than now for Africans to begin doing more business together. This follows the Donald Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs on African countries and the continuous dwindling aid from major foreign partners. Ablakwa, who is on a three-day working visit to Nigeria, […]

The Ghanaian foreign affairs minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has said there is no better time than now for Africans to begin doing more business together.

This follows the Donald Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs on African countries and the continuous dwindling aid from major foreign partners.

Ablakwa, who is on a three-day working visit to Nigeria, disclosed this while speaking at a reception organised for him at the weekend by Mobus Properties Limited, the owners of River Park Estate, in Abuja.

He said that with the fresh tariffs and aid cut, African countries must look inward to survive.

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“There is an opportunity within the current geopolitics to make African governments wake up to be more self-dependent, more reliant, and buoyant about supporting local businesses, even at the government-to-government level,” he said.

Ablakwa said business between African countries is below 20 percent, calling on them to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to improve the economy of the continent.

“The time has come for Africans to do more business amongst ourselves, to trade more amongst ourselves. And that was the whole vision behind the African Continental Free Trade Area.

“If you look at the statistics, we don’t do business amongst ourselves. It’s below 20 per cent. If you look at intra-European trade, there’s an excess of 60 per cent. It is the same for intra-Asia trade.

“We need to collapse those artificial barriers and invest in the business ecosystem, creating opportunities, nurturing young entrepreneurs, and we also need to consciously promote made in Africa,” he said.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of Mobus Properties Limited, Kojo Ansah Mensah, said River Park had contributed over $250 million to Nigeria’s GDP.

“While global partnerships are vital, the greatest catalyst for our growth lies within our subregion. River Park Estate stands as evidence: Over 75 per cent of our workforce is Nigerian, 20 per cent Ghanaian, and 5 per cent from other ECOWAS nations.

“Together, we’ve generated thousands of jobs, spurred ancillary industries, and contributed over $250 million to Nigeria’s GDP. This is the power of intra-African collaboration.

“Let River Park be a blueprint—a clarion call for Ghanaian and Nigerian businesses to invest boldly in one another’s markets,” Mensah said.