By H.E. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson, Advisory Council, Africa Prosperity Network
The annual, three-day Africa Prosperity Dialogues have comfortably emerged as the Boardroom of Africa, a place where vision meets execution, where declarations are transformed into action, and where Africa’s prosperity and narratives are shaped by Africans themselves.
Empowering SMEs, Women & Youth in Africa’s Single Market is crucial for the attainment of Agenda 2063, The Africa We Want, which is an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena. This is aligned with Aspiration 6 of Agenda 2063, which recognises that Africa’s development must be driven by its people, drawing on the full potential of its women and youth.
The Africa Prosperity Network was established to bring Africa’s leaders, businesses and citizens together to shape our collective future. It has convened heads of state, business leaders and innovators; built bridges between policy and enterprise; and advanced campaigns to remove barriers to trade and mobility. These include advocacy for mobile money interoperability, now adopted through the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, and the Dollar-a-Day initiative to mobilise citizen financing for Africa’s infrastructure, which is currently under discussion with AUDA-NEPAD.
Our success as African leaders will not be measured by summits held or documents signed. It will be measured by jobs created, businesses scaled, borders opened, and rising prosperity for women and youth. It will be measured by whether Africa builds world-class infrastructure, takes away the need for guns, and ensures that children have access to quality education, healthcare, and a better quality of life. Our collective success will also be measured by whether we deliver a skills revolution, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, so that Africans can innovate and drive the continent toward lasting prosperity and peace.
Supporting Women, Youth and SMEs
Women contribute nearly 50% of Africa’s GDP (UNECA, 2021), yet face systemic exclusion from finance, markets and trade networks. Closing gender gaps in trade could increase intra-African trade by 15% annually (AfCFTA Secretariat).
Youth make up 60% of Africa’s population (World Bank, 2023), yet unemployment remains structurally high. Empowering young entrepreneurs could create up to 50 million jobs by 2030 (AfDB, 2021). It is therefore important to harness our youthful dividend by investing in quality education and skills training aligned with future job markets. We must create an enabling environment for entrepreneurship and innovation through supportive policies and access to finance. Also, we need to foster good governance, political stability, and inclusive economic policies to ensure young people meaningfully contribute to and benefit from the continent’s growth.
SMEs account for 80% of employment and 50% of GDP (Afreximbank, 2022), yet only one in five participates in cross-border trade due to regulatory, financial and logistical barriers (ITC, 2021). This is a glorified system failure. Addressing it requires tailored financial products that reflect the realities of entrepreneurs; deliberate integration of women and youth-led enterprises into regional value chains and sustained investment in skills development and digital tools.
A Borderless Africa
To deepen intra-African trade, which currently stands at just 15% compared to intra-Euro trade, which sits at 60-70%, Africa must open its borders. The Make Africa Borderless Now! movement reflects this urgency. This must, of course, be done responsibly, with due regard for security, regulation and public safety.
Greater mobility strengthens tourism, integration, and mutual understanding among Africans. It brings us closer to realising the vision articulated by Kwame Nkrumah, who reminded us that “Divided we are weak; united, Africa could become one of the greatest forces for good in the world.”
Countries such as Botswana, Namibia and Zambia introduced the Borderless Africa Alliance in 2023-2024 with an announcement made in 2025. Under the alliance, citizens of the member countries can cross borders using only their national identity cards instead of passports. It is worthy to note that this has not resulted in disproportionate increases in crime.
It is of the essence that we commit to inclusive innovation, meaningful collaboration, and expanded trade. Simplified trade regimes must move from pilot projects to continental norms. Cross-border payments, logistics and digital trade platforms must be designed for small businesses; not only for large banks and corporates. Integration must reduce costs, not add layers. Governments must decisively remove tariff and non-tariff barriers. The private sector must procure from SMEs, women and youth at scale. And financial institutions must be transparent and accountable for how much of their capital truly reaches those who drive inclusive growth.
Building the Africa we want cannot be the responsibility of governments and businesses alone. It is a shared responsibility. Every African: policy-maker, investor, entrepreneur, academic, worker and citizen has a role to play. Integration begins with mindset: the understanding that Africa’s prosperity is a collective project, and that each of us is both a beneficiary and a builder of the future we seek.