{
  "id": 16263592,
  "title": "Oramah: Africa Must Break Economic Bondage, Build Its Own Industrial Power",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/24/oramah-africa-must-break-economic-bondage-build-its-own-industrial",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-24T02:01:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "This Day",
    "slug": "this-day",
    "url": "https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/10/24/oramah-africa-must-break-economic-bondage-build-its-own-industrial-power/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Dr. Benedict Oramah, former President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has called for urgent action in Africa to attain economic independence through industrialization, enhanced intra-African trade, strategic capital deployment, and human development investment. Speaking at the recent IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, Oramah emphasized that Africa's political independence would remain incomplete unless the continent develops the capacity to produce goods, create decent jobs, and determine its economic destiny.\n\nOramah urged governments, financial institutions, businesses, and stakeholders to view themselves as fighters for Africa's economic freedom, warning that the continent must overcome fragmentation and dependence that continue to hinder its development. He described this as financial guerrilla warfare, with banking and financial services engaged in a battle for economic independence.\n\nThe former Afreximbank president stressed that political independence is merely the starting point for Africa's struggle, with the ultimate goal being economic self-determination. He argued that the fight now requires ideas, industrial production, technology, and human capital rather than weapons. Oramah noted that the battle is fought on factory floors, technology incubation centers, and through ideas, not with brute force.\n\nOramah highlighted that the challenge for Africa is not a shortage of ideas but the inability to effectively execute them and mobilize the necessary resources to achieve continental ambitions. Regarding regional integration, he lamented that Africa's trade with external partners is disproportionately high compared to intra-African trade, despite the continent's significant infrastructure assets and productive capacity.\n\nHe emphasized that existing infrastructure could support between $1 trillion and $1.4 trillion in African trade, while intra-African trade only accounts for about $170 billion to $200 billion. Oramah urged African countries to develop their own artificial intelligence capabilities, rather than relying on technologies developed elsewhere.",
  "summary": "· Says political independence incomplete without economic freedom · Urges investment in manufacturing, skills, technology Nume Ekeghe The immediate past President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Dr. Benedict Oramah, has urged",
  "key_points": [
    "Oramah warns against fragmentation and dependence hindering Africa's development.",
    "Africa's trade with external partners exceeds intra-African trade significantly."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}