Taiwo Afolabi, chairman of SIFAX Group, has called on African entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders to shift focus from fragmented small-scale enterprises to the development of large, sustainable corporations capable of competing on the global stage.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Afolabi said Africa’s long-term economic transformation would depend largely on the emergence of strong indigenous corporations with the scale, institutional structure, and operational capacity to drive industrialisation, create jobs, attract investment, and compete internationally.
According to him, deliberations at this year’s forum underscored the urgent need for African businesses to embrace collaboration, regional integration, long-term planning, and strategic expansion if the continent is to maximise its economic potential.
“Africa cannot achieve its full economic potential with thousands of weak and fragmented businesses operating in silos. What the continent needs are strong institutions and large corporations that can survive beyond their founders, scale across borders, attract global capital, and compete with the best companies around the world,” Afolabi said.
He noted that while entrepreneurship remains central to Africa’s development story, there is a growing need for deliberate efforts aimed at building enduring enterprises with sound governance structures, innovation capacity, and continental reach.
The SIFAX Group chairman stressed that governments, financial institutions, and private sector stakeholders across the continent must work together to create enabling environments that support business scalability. He identified infrastructure development, improved access to finance, favourable regulatory frameworks, and enhanced intra-African trade as critical pillars required to support sustainable corporate growth.
“The conversations at the Africa CEO Forum clearly showed that Africa’s future lies in integration and scale. The African Continental Free Trade Area presents a historic opportunity for businesses to expand beyond national borders and build truly pan-African enterprises,” he added.
Afolabi further stated that the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area offers African companies a rare opportunity to strengthen regional value chains, deepen market access, and reduce the continent’s dependence on external markets.
He explained that SIFAX Group’s long-term strategy is aligned with efforts to deepen intra-African trade through investments in logistics, port operations, transportation, and digital finance solutions across the continent.
Industry observers at the forum noted that Africa’s private sector must increasingly pursue consolidation, strategic partnerships, and cross-border expansion to build resilient corporations capable of driving sustainable economic growth in an increasingly competitive global economy.
The Africa CEO Forum, regarded as one of the continent’s leading private sector gatherings, brought together business executives, policymakers, investors, and development institutions to discuss strategies for accelerating economic growth and strengthening Africa’s competitiveness in global markets.
