Sanda Ojiambo, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and CEO of the UN Global Compact, has called on African leaders and businesses to take a more proactive role in shaping emerging global markets. Speaking in an exclusive interview with GABI Media, Ojiambo stressed that Africa cannot afford to remain on the sidelines as technologies, trade systems, and sustainability frameworks redefine the global economy.
“Africa must not only participate in tomorrow’s markets,” she said, “we must actively shape them. From digital finance to green energy, from AI to climate adaptation, the choices being made now will lock in value chains for decades. If we sit back, others will decide for us—and we will remain consumers, not creators.”
Her comments come at a pivotal moment. Africa is the youngest continent in the world, with 70 per cent of its population under the age of 30, yet its representation in global policy and trade negotiations remains limited. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has been hailed as a breakthrough, but experts argue that Africa’s bargaining power is still undercut by fragmented implementation and weak local capital formation.
Ojiambo, who has worked across sustainability and private sector development, urged African businesses to innovate beyond survival mode. “We must channel our creativity into solutions that scale, not just to serve Africa, but the world,” she said, highlighting fintech, agritech, and clean energy as sectors with global export potential.
She also emphasised partnerships: “Africa must forge alliances not from a place of dependency, but from shared value. We have talent, markets, and resources. The future is not something to consume—it is something to co-create.”
Her message reflects a growing urgency among African thinkers that the continent must redefine its role before it is permanently locked into the periphery of global trade.