Ghanaian Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, last Wednesday, urged the African continent to re-interrogate the issue of borders as a step toward mobilizing the entire continent and its resources seamlessly for development.
During the opening of the 2026 edition of the Africa Prosperity Dialogue (APD), held in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, from 4th to 6th February 2026, by the Africa Prosperity Network, a continent-wide think tank, Opoku-Agyemang stated that a more united continent is necessary to achieve the vision of trade and economic integration.
The vice president remarked that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), with more than 1.3 billion people, stands out as a historic opportunity for the continent in the area of trade and economic development.
“We must interrogate our borders. Africa must unite. This is not about erasing sovereignty. It is about organizing our sovereignty in the service of shared prosperity,” the vice president urged.
She added, “Our single market is about enabling an entrepreneur or manufacturer, whether in Accra, Kigali, Luanda, or elsewhere, to see Africa not as a fragmented abstraction, but as one connected market with vast opportunities.”
Opoku-Agyemang lauded the African Union for its sustained efforts, deeper coordination, and increasingly confident leadership in creating the momentum for continental integration, industrialization, and economic development.
“The task now is to convert this momentum into a durable economic transformation that requires clarity of focus, expanding trade within Africa, and implementing the industrial strategies that strengthen priority sectors, build skills support, and sustainable production,” she urged.
The vice president also called for continued support for small and medium enterprises, women in business, and the youth who form the backbone of economic activity and trade on the continent.
The theme of the conference was “Empowering SMEs, Women, and Youth in Africa’s Single Market: Innovate, Collaborate, and Trade.”