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Main Issue

The Missed Opportunity: Africa Is Building Someone Else’s Wealth

Last week, I made a call to hustlers to consider intra-African trade. We should start making things, even simple things. The Made In Africa tag should mean something to us.

Just recently, some founders in my mastermind group were furiously sending reels back and forth. These reels featured simple manufacturing ideas, from making bamboo toothpicks to plastic sandals like CROCS.

Consider this:

• Africa imports billions of dollars worth of plastic household items from China annually. Not complicated industrial plastic components, but buckets, plates, cups and utensils.

• Many African countries have pulpwood resources but lack paper mills. Over $1 billion in paper goods is imported from China annually.

• Despite an abundance of ores, Africa again still looks to China for over $3 billion worth of basic metal goods like nails, wire, and simple tools.

• South Africa alone imported $120 million worth of ceramic tableware from China. Africa has clay deposits but lacks large-scale ceramic factories.

Logically, I don’t see how these things can’t be made by hustlers like ourselves, or even why they are allowed through customs. Yes, international trade principles suggest that countries often specialise in producing goods where they have a comparative advantage. But toothpicks and cups?

My question these days to aspiring founders is, “What can you make?” Not what can you import and resell.

Africa’s manufacturing sector contributes less than 2% of global manufacturing.

That's painful to consider. To make matters worse, that share of 2% is concentrated in a few countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, and Egypt.

And how does Africa’s meagre percentage compare with other areas?

We manufacture nothing, so it is no wonder that we earn nothing as well. Our share of the global GDP is a paltry 3%.

When global supply chains were disrupted during COVID, this should have provided a wake-up call to local entrepreneurs and policymakers.

COVID taught us African countries import between 70% and 100% of finished pharmaceutical products, 99% of vaccines, and between 90% and 100% of medical devices and active pharmaceutical ingredients, with little or no capacity for manufacturing of pharmaceutical quality excipients, vaccines, medical devices, and other health technologies.

Yet we have universities budding from every corner, teaching God knows what degree programs, some so outlandish their real-world applications border on the mythological.

In 2023, Africa, specifically South Africa, had the highest unemployment rate in the world, with a rate of 32.1%. Six of the top 10 countries with the highest unemployment rates globally are in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Yet, a 10% shift from importing goods to processing them locally could create 5 million jobs.

Africa imports over $240 billion worth of manufactured goods every year. Meanwhile, our youth remain unemployed, our raw materials leave the continent unprocessed, and our local economies remain fragile and dependent.

Have we become too educated and smart to be farmers and artisans?

That might explain why 90% of Africa’s food is imported, yet millions of hectares of farmland remain underused.

8 Practical Steps to Explore Local Manufacturing Opportunities

1. Identify What You Want to Manufacture 

• Start with what aligns with your business: apparel, cosmetics, food processing, electronics, furniture, etc.

• Look at imported goods in your niche: can any be made locally?

• Consider raw materials readily available in your country.

2. Research Existing Local Manufacturers 

• Use directories or government resources to find local manufacturers.

• Visit local industrial parks, free zones, or SME clusters.

• Ask: Who's already doing this? What are their capabilities?

• Look for "white-label" or contract manufacturers willing to produce under your brand.

3. Engage Industry Associations & Local Chambers

• Join associations relevant to your product category (e.g., manufacturing, agri-processing, textiles).

• Attend networking events, expos, and factory tours.

• These organisations often have data, contacts, and guidance on available facilities and incentives.

4. Study Government Policies & Incentives

• Many African countries offer tax breaks, land, grants, or equipment financing to manufacturers.

• Explore:
  - Local development banks (e.g., Bank of Industry Nigeria, DBSA South Africa)
  - Industrial Development Corporations
  - AfCFTA resources

5. Map the Local Supply Chain 

• Understand the availability of raw materials, packaging, transport, skilled labour, energy, and water.

• Identify what you can source locally and what you may need to import at first.

• Map out distribution channels for your finished product.

6. Visit Industrial Hubs & Factories

• Visit existing factories in your area or region.

• Assess quality standards, equipment, turnaround times, and certifications.

• Ask about minimum order quantities (MOQs), setup costs, and production timelines.

• Don't rely only on brochures, visit and inspect physically where possible.

7. Conduct a Feasibility Study or Pilot

• Run a small batch or pilot with a manufacturer to test production, quality, and market response.

• Compare costs vs. importing, including shipping, duties, and storage.

• A mini cost-benefit analysis can save you months of mistakes.

8. Consider Joint Ventures or Shared Facilities.

• If capital is a constraint, explore:
  - Renting underutilised factory space
  - Sharing equipment
  - Partnering with local artisans or cooperatives

• Co-manufacturing is a rising trend in early-stage African ventures.

Africa doesn’t need more aid. It needs factories. It needs founders with vision. It needs you.

Let’s stop exporting jobs and importing poverty. Let’s build factories that build futures.

Manufacture in Africa.

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