All Posts

More than fifty years after it was first envisioned by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in 1971, the Trans-African Highway (TAH) network is again at the centre of continental economic debate. Originally conceptualised as a nine-corridor, pan-continental road system linking North, West, East, Central and Southern Africa, the network spans approximately 56,000 kilometres across over 40 countries. Supported by UNECA, the African Development Bank (AfDB) a

South Africa’s automotive industry has long stood as the country’s most globally integrated manufacturing sector and one of the most sophisticated industrial ecosystems in the Global South. For decades it has anchored export performance, industrial employment and manufacturing value addition. Yet the sector is now entering a decisive period. Intensifying global competition, technological disruption and deep domestic structural constraints are converging at a moment when the A

Africa’s industrialisation journey is entering a decisive phase. For decades, discussions about manufacturing on the continent centred on potential rather than performance. Today, however, new data reveals a more competitive and dynamic landscape in which several African economies are emerging as serious industrial players. According to the World Bank’s latest available data on manufacturing value added for 2023, recently visualised by Intelpoint.co , Africa’s manufacturing o

By 2026, intra-African trade has moved decisively beyond aspiration. Trade volumes are rising, political commitment to continental integration has deepened, and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area has become a central feature of economic policy across the continent. This shift is reflected not only in political statements, but in sustained analysis by institutions such as the African Development Bank, UNECA, and Afreximbank, all of which report measurabl

Africa’s manufacturing landscape is increasingly defined by divergence. While some countries are losing industrial capacity, others are attracting new factories, technology, and long-term investment. Nowhere is this contrast clearer than between South Africa, once the continent’s industrial anchor, and Morocco, which is rapidly positioning itself as a competitive manufacturing and export platform. Recent developments in both countries reveal two very different trajectories, o

Africa’s industrial story in early 2026 paints a striking contrast: one nation accelerating toward global competitiveness, another struggling to keep its core manufacturing base alive. Nowhere is this more vivid than in the automotive sector, long seen as a litmus test of industrial strength. Morocco’s rise as Africa’s automotive powerhouse, and South Africa’s deepening manufacturing contraction, reveals a tale of strategic policy, global integration, and warning signals for

Africa’s manufacturing challenge is often framed in terms of industrial policy, access to finance, and infrastructure gaps. While these factors matter, a less visible but equally decisive constraint continues to undermine competitiveness across the continent: logistics inefficiency and border friction. For manufacturers, logistics are not a peripheral concern. They shape costs, cash flows, and ultimately the viability of industrial investment.   In practice, the difference be

Africa imports millions of vehicles every year. From compact cars and buses to trucks and specialised industrial vehicles, the continent is a significant consumer of automotive products. Yet when one looks across Africa’s manufacturing landscape, a simple but uncomfortable question emerges: where are Africa’s cars?   This question is not merely about the physical act of assembling vehicles. It is a question about ownership, value chains, industrial capability, and economic am

Africa’s industrialisation debate is no longer about whether manufacturing matters, but about how the continent can finance, scale, and sustain it in a rapidly changing global economy. As global supply chains fragment, geopolitical risks rise, and the green transition accelerates, Africa is facing an industrial inflection point that is both urgent and investable. What makes this moment different is that manufacturing is no longer only a national ambition , it is increasingly