PAMA: Ajayi-Kadir seeks institutional credibility, policy coherence, strategic execution, others to deepen sector in 2026

In 2025, we navigated a challenging landscape with resilience and purpose. In the year ahead, we will build on this journey to achieve even greater impact for Africa’s industrial future… I join the President in expressing profound gratitude to all members and partners for our journey together throughout 2025, and for the dedication each of you has brought to strengthening our collective voice. This has been a year in which PAMA demonstrated, once again, the power of coordinated advocacy— anchored in evidence, disciplined engagement, and clarity of purpose. This is the message from Co-Secretary General- Segun Ajayi-Kadir mni to the members of the Pan- Africa Manufacturers Association (PAMA), writes, Editor Gentechnews, Tony Nwakaegho.

The Pan- Africa Manufacturers Association (PAMA), Co-Secretary General- Segun Ajayi-Kadir mni, has emphasized that historically and considering the magnitude of Africa’s natural wealth, he is convinced that Africa’s industrialization challenge is not primarily a question of capital scarcity or technological deficiency, stressing that the fundamental issue lies in institutional credibility, policy coherence, and strategic execution in deepening the sector.

Ajayi-Kadir, in the Pan- Africa Manufacturers Association (PAMA) December 2025 news bulletin, stated that economies that have successfully industrialised—across East Asia, Latin America, and parts of Eastern Europe—did so not because of superior endowments, but because they built predictable, accountable, and resilient systems: systems that protected investment, disciplined public finance, reduced the operational friction faced by the private sector, and allowed productive enterprise to scale sustainably.

Meanwhile, he stated that Africa’s gap is not a lack of potential, but the absence of an enabling equilibrium that aligns markets, institutions, and incentives.

For investors, the Co-Secretary General, stated that the continent remains a frontier of extraordinary opportunity—but one that requires institutional maturity, regulatory stability, and clarity on the direction of national industrial strategies, adding that global capital will flow where it sees seriousness, predictability, and an ecosystem designed to scale productive investment rather than constrain it.

For policymakers, he stated that Africa must move beyond episodic, short-term interventions toward structural reforms that systematically reduce business friction, expand productive capacity, and enhance industrial competitiveness.

Ajayi-Kadir, acknowledged that the AfCFTA has provided Africa with the platform, but its success depends on policy coherence, reform discipline, and sustained, inclusive compliance by all member states, without selective implementation or bias, adding that only through full and consistent participation can regional value chains deepen and the continent’s industrial potential be realised.

According to him, “As a continental advocacy institution, PAMA’s mandate is to shape Africa’s economic future through the development of its industrial sectors. By combining robust research with sustained engagement across industry, investment, and policy communities, we champion reforms, tackle systemic challenges, and ensure that the perspectives of key stakeholders are fully integrated into the design and implementation of industrial policies and sector development strategies— creating the conditions for manufacturing growth, enhanced competitiveness, and credible, investable opportunities across Africa.”

He highlighted that in 2025, PAMA drove a focused, high-impact advocacy agenda to strengthen Africa’s industrial base—pushing coordinated action on industrial security, promoting “Buy Africa, Build Africa,” advancing unified standards for AfCFTA implementation, and accelerating SMIs development through fair-competition reforms.

PAMA, he stated, supported a balanced transition to sustainable manufacturing by encouraging evidence-based approaches to plastic regulation and promoting recycling-led circular economy systems, while amplifying SMI inclusion in continental trade platforms.

“Through strategic engagements—including IATF 2025, Afreximbank AAM2025, ECOTIFE 2025, InnTech, new MoUs with key continental bodies, including Pan African Alliance of Small and Medium Industries and Tunisia Africa Business Council, and outreach to Dangote Industries —PAMA reinforced its position as Africa’s leading voice for manufacturing and industrialisation.

“By creating a platform where industrialists can meaningfully engage with policymakers and investors, our advocacy translates evidence into actionable insights—turning Africa’s latent industrial potential into credible, investable opportunities that foster inclusive and sustainable growth,” he added.

PAMA Co-Secretary General, disclosed that in 2026, their advocacy agenda will be guided by four strategic pillars:

“Elevating Evidence-Based Advocacy: “We will intensify our research outputs, offering sharper diagnostics on the structural barriers constraining Africa’s productive sectors and providing clearer reform pathways for governments seeking to enhance competitiveness.

“Championing Industrial Enablers: Our focus will be on the core systems— energy, logistics, tax simplification, innovation financing, and trade facilitation—without which no industrial strategy can meaningfully scale.

“Mobilising Regional Collaboration: Because industrialisation is a regional proposition, we will advocate for policyconvergence, supply-chain interoperability, and AfCFTA-aligned reforms that reduce the cost of doing business across borders.

“Strengthening Dialogue Between Policymakers and Investors: PAMA will convene targeted platforms that bring together reform champions, capital providers, and enterprise leaders to rebuild trust, align expectations, and advance a shared reform narrative.”

He emphasized that through these commitments, PAMA will remain a principled voice— constructive always and unwavering in its mission to improve the foundations upon which Africa’s economies depend.

This mission, according to him, is all the more critical because the trajectory of Africa’s industrial future hinges not only on national policy choices and investment flows, but also on the scope and quality of our collective engagement.

He affirmed that strong collaboration with and support from development institutions and the public enhances their ability to advocate effectively, strengthen industrial ecosystems, and shape a resilient, future-ready manufacturing landscape that will benefit all.

We call upon you all our fellow manufacturers across the continent to join our platform, ensuring that the sector’s voice is fully represented continentally and globally and that our advocacy reflects the true priorities of Africa’s industrial landscape.

“It is through this shared, multi-stakeholder commitment that Africa’s industrial potential can truly be realised to pave the way for sustainable and investable industrial growth that benefits all.

“It is through this shared, multi-stakeholder commitment that stakeholders can support PAMA in its work. Together, we can create a stable, credible, and opportunity-rich environment.

“Such an environment fosters investor confidence and enables manufacturers to scale sustainably. In doing so, we promote job creation and contribute to Africa’s broader development objectives, including the realisation of AU Agenda 2063,” Ajayi-Kadir, concluded.