In this op-ed, Jon Offei-Ansah argues that Africa is being treated as a prize in a new global scramble — and risks being underpriced unless it acts decisively
Keypoints:
- Kenya’s 2026 summit signals shift in global engagement
- Global powers are competing for Africa’s resources and markets
- AfCFTA offers Africa a path to stronger negotiating power
KENYA will make history in 2026 as the first non-Francophone African nation to host the Africa–France Summit, while Mauritius prepares to host the US–Africa Business Summit — underscoring Africa’s growing centrality in global competition.
From Washington to Beijing, Brussels to New Delhi, Ankara to Riyadh, global powers are accelerating their engagement with Africa through a growing calendar of high-level summits.
This convergence is not symbolic. It reflects a deeper shift in the global order — one in which Africa is no longer peripheral, but central to future economic and geopolitical strategy.
Why Africa now matters more than ever
The drivers of this renewed attention are structural.
Africa holds a significant share of the world’s critical minerals, particularly cobalt and manganese, with growing importance in lithium and rare earth elements essential to the energy transition.
At the same time, it is home to the world’s youngest population and one of its fastest-growing consumer markets.
As recent analysis has shown, the continent is increasingly positioned to outpace other regions in growth, with the world’s fastest-growing region projections reinforcing its long-term economic relevance.
This convergence of global summits signals a deeper shift: Africa is no longer being engaged as a development case, but as a strategic partner in shaping future supply chains, energy systems and global growth.
Attention without coordination
Yet, for all this attention, Africa’s response remains fragmented.
The continent continues to negotiate largely as 54 individual states, often pursuing bilateral arrangements that dilute collective bargaining power.
While institutions such as the African Union and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provide a framework for unity, they remain underutilised as tools of geopolitical strategy.
As explored in Africa’s response to shifting global trade pressures, fragmentation continues to limit the continent’s ability to respond collectively to external economic shocks.
This creates a persistent imbalance.
Africa is treated as a strategic prize, but often negotiates without the coordination required to convert that interest into long-term advantage.
History offers a warning. External interest, without internal alignment, has repeatedly produced extractive outcomes — where raw materials leave the continent with limited value addition and industrialisation remains constrained.
From access to value creation
The current moment demands a shift from access to value.
Africa must move beyond granting market access and resource concessions towards negotiating outcomes that prioritise local processing, industrial development and technology transfer.
The language of engagement is already evolving, with global partners increasingly emphasising ‘investment’ and ‘partnership’ over ‘aid’.
But without clear strategy and firm negotiation, these partnerships risk reproducing familiar patterns under new labels.
The objective must be clear: no access without value creation.
AfCFTA as a strategic lever
At the centre of Africa’s potential leverage lies AfCFTA.
By creating a single market of more than 1.3 billion people, AfCFTA offers scale — one of the most powerful assets in global economic diplomacy.
Recent initiatives such as the AfCFTA digital trade backbone rollout show how integration efforts are beginning to address long-standing fragmentation in cross-border commerce.
Properly leveraged, it can transform Africa’s negotiating position, enabling coordinated trade policy, stronger bargaining power and deeper industrial integration.
A unified market changes the equation.
While fragmented economies can be negotiated down, a continental market of this scale cannot be easily overlooked.
But scale only matters if it is used. AfCFTA must evolve from a trade agreement into a strategic instrument guiding Africa’s external engagement.
Setting the agenda, not reacting to it
Another shift is equally important: control of the agenda.
Many Africa-focused summits continue to be convened and structured by external actors, often reflecting their priorities.
Africa must move towards setting its own terms — defining priority sectors, coordinating positions and leading negotiations through continental institutions.
As highlighted in Africa’s integration journey under AfCFTA, progress depends not just on agreements, but on coordinated execution across the continent.
Agenda-setting is not procedural. It is strategic power.
It determines the direction of engagement and the distribution of its benefits.
The difference between importance and power
Africa’s growing importance is no longer in doubt.
The scale of global engagement makes that clear.
The real question is whether this importance will translate into power.
Power is not defined by resources alone. It is built through coordination, strategy and execution.
It requires moving from reactive engagement to deliberate positioning.
The current wave of summits presents a rare window.
If seized, Africa can reposition itself at the centre of global value chains.
If not, it risks reinforcing patterns that have historically limited its development.
Africa is no longer being invited to the table.
It is the table.
The only question is whether it will set the rules.