Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has called for grounded, disciplined and people-centred leadership as Africa navigates growing global disruptions.
Delivering the keynote address at the 16th Oxford Africa Conference, she told a gathering of leaders, academics and innovators that although Africa continues to face persistent challenges, the continent also possesses the talent, resources and capacity to shape its own future through credible implementation, institutional resilience and long-term economic transformation.
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The Vice President highlighted Ghana’s ongoing economic reforms aimed at stabilising the economy, reducing dependence on raw material exports and strengthening value addition in key sectors, particularly cocoa processing, as part of efforts to build a more sustainable economic structure.
She also outlined major social and economic interventions, including the proposed 24-Hour Economy policy and the Women’s Development Bank, describing them as deliberate measures to expand opportunities and integrate underserved populations, especially women, into the formal economy.
According to her, empowering women through access to finance, skills and tools remains essential to achieving inclusive growth across Africa.
On technology and trade, Professor Opoku-Agyemang pointed to the transformative potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and stressed the need for Africa to take leadership in areas such as artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, energy transition and data sovereignty.
She concluded that Africa’s transformation would depend not only on the scale of global disruption, but also on the continent’s collective ability to organise, lead and deliver results through ethical governance, strong institutions and policies that improve the lives of citizens.
