Enhancing Africa's Value in Manufacturing Value Chains - 2023 U.S.-Africa Business Summit

The high-level dialogue on “Enhancing Africa’s Value in Manufacturing Value Chains” was moderated by Julian Pecquet, U.S. Correspondent of Jeune Afrique/The Africa Report and addressed the challenges Africa faces in bolstering its manufacturing sector. Lesotho’s Prime Minister, Sam Matekane, stressed upon the importance of creating a conducive economic environment and infrastructure, noting Lesotho is implementing a national trade strategy to take advantage of initiatives under SACU and SADC. The African Association of Automotive Manufacturer’s David Coffey cited his sector as a good example of public-private sector collaboration, noting the importance of focusing on producing a limited number of high-quality models that can maximize innovation and therefore value. There was broad agreement on the importance of designing good policy to support the creation of vertically integrated supply chains across the Continent, including policies to foster trade across borders for both the formal and informal sector, which was stated by First National Bank of Botswana’s Stephen Lefentse Bogatsu. There was a clear sense this is a good opportunity to incorporate more companies in the informal sector into the formal sector, while maintaining a long-term perspective, as the Tropical Investment General Group’s Farouk Gumel noted. In this regard, Proctor and Gamble’s Alicia Eggington stressed the importance of supporting Small and Medium Enterprises as parts of supply chains, stressing that a critical part of commercial success is for all companies to maintain global quality standards. Several speakers like Lesotho’s Trade Minister Shelile and Greg Poole from the Children’s Place stressed the importance of renewing the African Growth and Opportunity Act.Click hereto watch the recorded session.