Africa Must Turn Raw Materials into Wealth — Leaders Urge at GHIB Converge 2025

The Ghana International Bank’s flagship forum, GHIB Converge 2025, wrapped up in London with a resounding call for Africa to stop exporting raw commodities cheaply and instead channel investment into processing, refining, and value addition.

For three days, policymakers, bankers, commodity traders, and industry leaders debated how Africa can seize control of its vast resources to fuel industrialisation, jobs, and sustainable growth.

GHIB Chief Executive Dean Adansi captured the mood, stressing that Africa is “sitting on billions of dollars in lost export revenues” by selling cocoa, gold, and cashew in raw form. He called for dedicated financing to build processing plants and stronger collaboration between governments, banks, and industry.

Central bank governors echoed the urgency. Ghana’s First Deputy Governor, Dr. Zakaria Mumuni, said boosting domestic gold refining would strengthen reserves and protect the economy from global shocks, while The Gambia’s Governor Buah Saidy urged regional value chains that keep jobs and revenue in Africa.

Lord Paul Boateng framed commodities as geopolitical leverage, saying Africa must use its resources as bargaining chips to secure infrastructure, technology transfer, and long-term competitiveness.

The event spotlighted practical solutions , from hybrid financing for cocoa processing to blockchain in trade documentation , and ended with GHIB’s inaugural Trader of the Year award to Edmund Poku of Niche Cocoa, a shining example of African value addition.

Closing the summit, Mr. Adansi reminded participants that change requires a united front. “Transformation cannot be left to governments alone or private companies alone. It will take collective action to turn Africa’s raw potential into lasting wealth.”