Trade and Development

In the pecking order of cabinet ministries, Trade and Industry tends to come close to the bottom. What is more, is that Trade and Industry Ministries typically get allocations of less than 1 percent of national budgets. No wonder, then, that ecosystems don’t exist that would facilitate production and trade of high-value, transformative products with high impact in the broader economy. Yet, the rhetoric about export-led development is ceaseless. This is certainly the case in practically all African countries.