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Africa has no shortage of development strategies. The challenge, according to Dr. Norga Komba, is turning those strategies into a coordinated continental system that allows African countries to produce, trade and industrialise together.
A legal specialist and entrepreneur from Tanzania, Dr. Komba argues that Africa’s industrialisation will remain slow if countries continue to develop policies and institutions in isolation from one another.
Her starting point is policy.
African countries and regional blocs have developed numerous strategies, but Dr. Komba believes there is a need to better codify and align national and continental development strategies, linking industrial policy with energy, infrastructure, skills and trade. What works in one African country should be shared and adapted across others rather than each country continually developing its own disconnected approach.
But policy alignment alone is not enough.
Dr. Komba highlights the importance of stronger coordination between government ministries. Trade cannot be separated from education, agriculture, technology, labour or legal frameworks. If governments want to develop particular industries, their education systems must understand what skills those industries require, while legal and trade institutions must create an enabling environment for businesses to operate.
Her experience of living in China reinforced this perspective. She observed how different ministries work towards interconnected institutional goals, allowing trade, agriculture, technology and education policies to reinforce one another.
For Africa, she argues, this kind of coordination is essential if the continent is serious about industrialisation.
Another major barrier is standards and certification.
If an African business wants to sell a manufactured product in another African country, unnecessary duplication of certification and regulatory requirements can become a barrier to trade. Dr. Komba calls for greater harmonisation of standards so that African products can move more easily across borders and countries can develop greater trust in one another’s goods.
And for Dr. Komba, this is where the real promise of Made in Africa lies.
Africa has a population of more than a billion people and therefore has the potential to create a powerful internal market. Rather than constantly looking outside the continent for markets, Africans should increasingly produce for one another and buy from one another.
Her argument is particularly compelling in the context of global disruptions. She points to China’s experience during the COVID-19 period, when its large domestic market helped provide economic resilience.
Africa, she suggests, needs to build similar resilience by strengthening intra-African trade.
“We need to start from our continent.”
Dr. Komba also brings the discussion back to women entrepreneurs. Access to finance matters, but she argues that knowledge, technology, education and networks are equally critical. Entrepreneurs need to understand their markets, their customers and the practical realities of building a business.
Finally, she points to infrastructure and logistics as essential enablers. Even when African entrepreneurs have products and markets, poor infrastructure can increase costs and make international trade unnecessarily difficult.
Dr. Komba’s contribution ultimately challenges Africa to think beyond individual national economies.
Industrialisation requires coordination. Trade requires trust. Integration requires harmonisation.
And perhaps her most important message is that African transformation must begin by building stronger connections within countries, between countries and across the continent.
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About Women in Geopolitics
The Women in Geopolitics Debate Series is a high-level thought-leadership platform dedicated to amplifying African voices, particularly women’s voices, in conversations on geopolitics, global affairs, governance, leadership and development.
Through dialogue with women leaders, diplomats, policymakers, business leaders, academics and experts from across Africa and beyond, the programme is building a growing archive of African women’s perspectives on the issues shaping our continent and our world.
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About the author
Madelein Mkunu is the President of Leading Women of Africa (LWA), a Pan-African social enterprise promoting women's leadership in economic development, and the founder of Beyond Boundaries, a global content and advocacy platform amplifying African women’s voices in policy, peacebuilding, and development. A bilingual English–French strategist and accomplished public speaker, she brings over 20 years of experience in gender mainstreaming, inclusive governance, and stakeholder engagement across Africa and globally. She holds an MBA and a Master’s in Management from IEDC-Bled School of Management (Slovenia), a Postgraduate Degree in Development Studies from the University of the Western Cape (South Africa), a Certificate in Leadership from the Dale Carnegie Institute, and is an alumna of Michigan State University’s Women Empowerment Programme. With a background in accounting and a passion for transformative change, Madelein is a trusted advisor to institutions seeking Africa-rooted development solutions.
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