Africa Must Stop Exporting Raw Materials; It Keeps Us in Poverty — Adesina Warns
AfDB President Adesina Calls for End to Raw Material Exports, Pushes for Value-Driven African Economy
ABIDJAN, April 17, 2025 — African Development Bank (AfDB) President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has issued a strong call to action, urging African nations to stop exporting raw materials and instead build economies that thrive on value-added production. According to Adesina, this shift is critical for breaking the continent’s cycle of poverty and underdevelopment.
In a post shared Thursday on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Adesina declared, “Africa must end the exports of its raw materials. The export of raw materials is the door to poverty. The export of value-added products is the highway to wealth. And Africa is tired of being poor.”
The message reflects a long-running concern among African policymakers: that while the continent holds vast reserves of raw materials — from oil and gas to lithium, cobalt, and agricultural produce — it continues to contribute less than 2% to global manufacturing output.
Adesina cited data from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and multilateral institutions to underline the disconnect between Africa’s resource wealth and its economic standing in the global market. Despite being resource-rich, Africa’s share of global trade remains under 3%, with most of its exports still in raw or minimally processed form.
To reverse this pattern, the AfDB president called for an urgent pivot toward industrialization, specifically targeting agro-processing, energy, and infrastructure development — sectors he has long identified as the pillars of economic transformation.
“Transforming Africa’s raw materials into finished products must become the norm, not the exception,” Adesina said in a recent public appearance. “We have the talent, we have the resources, and now we must build the industries that turn potential into prosperity.”
His call aligns with growing momentum behind initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to increase intra-African trade, reduce reliance on exports to non-African markets, and boost regional manufacturing capacity.
Adesina also weighed in on the international financing system, taking aim at what he described as the unfair distribution of the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). Africa, he noted, received just $33 billion — only 4.5% of the total $650 billion allocated globally — despite being disproportionately affected by the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response, the AfDB, in collaboration with the African Union, is spearheading a campaign to rechannel unused SDRs from wealthier countries to Africa. A new framework, developed in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), has been approved by the IMF Board and is supported by the AfDB’s top-tier AAA credit rating.
“This is not about aid — it’s about fairness and financial justice,” Adesina said. “Africa deserves access to the capital it needs to grow, industrialize, and compete globally.”
As the AfDB ramps up its advocacy, the message is clear: for Africa to rise economically, it must stop selling its potential raw — and start building wealth through production, innovation, and ownership of its value chains.
