President Yoweri Museveni has urged Uganda and other African countries to strengthen value addition for industrial growth.
In a speech read by Vice President, Jesca Alupo, at the closing of the 2025 Africa Industrialisation Week in Kampala on Thursday.
He says African countries should stop exporting raw materials and instead build industries that create jobs, wealth, and technological progress.
Museveni observed that Africa’s dependence on exporting unprocessed commodities remains one of the biggest obstacles to the continent’s economic transformation.
The president noted that throughout history, countries that industrialised, like Britain, Europe, the United States, Japan, and later the East Asian tigers, were the ones that achieved sustainable prosperity.
“Africa must learn from this experience. Despite being rich in minerals, agricultural potential, and a fast-growing population, the continent’s industrial contribution remains small, he said.
In 2024, Africa’s GDP stood at about US$2.8 trillion, far below the US, China, and Europe, of which only 10.4 per cent of this GDP came from industry.
The content’s share of global manufacturing, he added, is still just 2 per cent, driven mainly by basic sectors such as food products, wood, textiles, and a few emerging technology goods.
“Africa is very rich in natural resources, but our major exports are agricultural products, minerals, and fuels,” Museveni said.
“We export raw materials and then import the finished goods made from those same materials. This modern slavery must stop.”
He listed what he called ideological confusion, such as interference with the private sector, weak infrastructure, high transport costs, fragile states, fragmented markets, and limited value addition, as limitations to Africa’s industrialisation. He added poor human capital development, the underdeveloped services sector, and weak governance systems.
“We must invest in our people so that they are healthy, educated, and skilled. We must modernise agriculture because it is the foundation of manufacturing,” he said.
Amany Asfour, President of the African Business Council, backed Museveni’s message, saying Africa is losing billions of dollars by exporting raw minerals and agricultural products instead of processing them. “In the exhibition, we saw the potential,” she noted.
“We export raw Shea butter for US$90 million, yet the global cosmetics industry based on Shea is worth over US$500 million. We export cocoa worth US$5.7 billion, but the global chocolate industry is US$217 billion.”
Museveni pointed to Uganda’s experience, saying the country’s turnaround since 1986 shows the importance of peace, private-sector-led growth, and value addition. Uganda’s economy has expanded from US$4 billion in 1986 to US$61.3 billion today.
The manufacturing sector contributes 15.6 per cent to GDP, and Uganda is exporting goods such as soap, sugar, cement, steel, and processed foods that it previously imported entirely.
He says processing raw materials increases earnings dramatically. “Coffee exported raw brings US$2 per kilogram. When processed, it earns between US$20 and US$50. That is ten times more for the same beans,” the President noted.
Museveni urged African governments to enforce value addition policies, accelerate implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), reduce non-tariff barriers, and let the private sector take the lead. He said Africa must take advantage of the upcoming World Industrial Development Decade for Africa (2026–2035) to build industries, integrate markets, and strengthen regional value chains.
Asfour said the same pattern applies to minerals. “There are winners in the exhibition, but no minerals. If we process our minerals, we can multiply our earnings many times. Africa exports US$12 billion worth of raw materials, but if we processed them, they would bring US$400 billion.”
She outlined what Africa must do to unlock this prosperity: build indigenous industrial capacity, strengthen scientific research, invest in infrastructure and energy, improve access to markets, protect intellectual property, and promote technology exchange. “This is how we move from poverty to prosperity. I don’t like the language of poverty alleviation. I prefer prosperity creation,” she said.
Her approach is based on what she calls the “triad of empowerment:t” private sector development, strong policy advocacy, and project development through science and technology. She praised the call for at least 40 per cent of government procurement in African states to go to African producers, saying this will strengthen local industries.
Asfour also urged African countries to work together to map their natural resources, identify technological needs, and coordinate investment. “Financial independence gives us the power of choice and voice. Africa must have its own voice,” she said.
Both Museveni and Asfour agreed that effective implementation of the AfCFTA is central to Africa’s industrial future. With a population of 1.56 billion people and a rising youth demographic, Africa has a strong potential market. Regional blocs such as the East African Community, with nearly 300 million people, also offer significant opportunities for industrial growth.
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