{
  "id": 1751676,
  "title": "Manufacturing success: How to secure Africa's industrial future",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/manufacturing-success-how-to-secure-africas-industrial-future",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-18T16:10:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Africa Business",
    "slug": "africa-business",
    "url": "https://african.business/2026/08/trade-investment/manufacturing-success-how-to-secure-africas-industrial-future"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Industrialization has been a key focus of Africa's development strategy, yet only a few nations have successfully expanded their manufacturing sector and integrated into global value chains. The majority have failed to make significant progress, contributing to the slow and uneven pace of industrialization across the continent. According to the African Development Bank (AfDB) in the Africa Industrialisation Index 2025, which assessed industrial development in 54 countries from 2010 to 2024, the value of manufacturing value-added goods produced in Africa grew from $285bn in 2020 to $351bn in 2025. However, Africa's manufacturing output remains a fraction of global figures, accounting for less than 2% of global manufacturing output and only 1.4% of manufacturing exports. Its contribution to GDP is only 10.8%, far below the global average of 16.5%. In 2024, Morocco overtaken South Africa as Africa's leading industrial economy, with a score of 0.8415, while South Africa scored 0.8396. The index evaluates various factors such as the value of manufactured goods produced and exported, the level of capital investments, the number of skilled jobs, the business environment, infrastructure, and macroeconomic ability. Morocco's industrial success is attributed to sustained upgrading, export diversification, and strong industrial policy, while South Africa's competitiveness has declined. Countries in North Africa, excluding Libya and Mauritania, and Southern Africa, led by Mauritius, Eswatini, and Namibia, rank highest in industrial development. In West Africa, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Ghana are among the most advanced. In East Africa, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania lead, while Central Africa is led by Gabon. Kenya's industrial prospects are hindered by structural constraints, including weak infrastructure, limited access to finance and technology, small markets, and human capital gaps. These factors make African manufacturers less competitive both in global and domestic markets. Jaswinder Bedi, a Kenyan textile manufacturing executive, notes that Kenya's manufacturing contribution to GDP has declined from 15% in the 1990s to 7.2% today. Many major manufacturers have shut down or shifted to importing products instead of producing locally due to high electricity costs and sluggish labour productivity. Bedi argues that policymakers focus too much on low wages, overlooking the need to boost productivity to remain competitive.",
  "summary": "Africa still accounts for a modest share of global manufacturing, but a free trade area and ambitious industrialists are changing the story.",
  "key_points": [],
  "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."
}