Visa restrictions costing African businesses opportunities – Gabby Otchere-Darko

Gabby Otchere-Darko, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Africa Prosperity Network, states that visa restrictions between African nations are impeding business prospects and hindering the development of a unified African market. In an interview on JoyNews’ The Pulse, he emphasized that visa application processes can be lengthy, resulting in missed opportunities due to the time it takes to travel.

Otchere-Darko highlighted that these restrictions impact not only businesspeople but also students and attendees of events such as sporting events and concerts, which present business opportunities for those organizing them. He argued that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) cannot be realized in its entirety without the free movement of people, and that the focus should now be on facilitating business movement.

Additionally, he called for increased attention to movement in the digital economy, which is one of the largest economies on the continent. Otchere-Darko pointed to South Africa and Kenya as examples of countries that are attempting to shield limited job opportunities from foreign competition, which he argued could ultimately limit prospects for young people.

He contended that removing trade barriers would spur stronger incentives for investors and industrialists to expand their businesses across the continent. Otchere-Darko explained that investors should have the freedom to consider larger regional and continental markets, rather than being confined to a single national market. He emphasized that removing barriers would enable industrialists to establish factories with access to larger markets, such as the ECOWAS market of about 460 million people or the wider African market of over 1.5 billion consumers.

He stressed that Africa's economic integration is intrinsically linked to the continent's capacity to generate jobs and boost economic activity.