Africa needs to collaborate to achieve absolute transformation – MTN CFO

Madam Antoinette Kwofie, the Chief Finance Officer of MTN Ghana, has called for the unification of regulations across Africa to facilitate the flow of capital into infrastructure development on the continent.

Participating in a panel discussion at the 2025 Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) on the topic, “Filling the Funding Gap for Infrastructure”, Madam Kwofie underscored the importance of collaboration among African nations in achieving sustainable growth.

She said as Africans, “we need to start thinking as one unit. Success can be achieved by playing as a team. We need to start thinking about how we can collaborate across the different countries we have on the continent and operate seamlessly as one unit. Bring our ideas and funds together and fund projects across the continent.”

She emphasized the need to move away from fragmented economic strategies and instead work towards a common goal, leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to drive investment and trade.

“We need to stop thinking of 54 different countries. We need to operationalize AfCFTA, we need to harmonize regulations, we need to remove trade barriers, we need to create an incentive for Africa to invest in Africa,” she added.

Madam Kwofie also highlighted the crucial role of human capital in Africa’s transformation, stressing the need for investment in skills that will propel technological advancement on the continent.

“Human capital is one of the things we need to get right if we want to achieve transformation on the continent. Investing in human capital, not just for the technical skills but for the technological skills amongst others,” she said.

She said Africa had immense talent yet continues to rely on external technological solutions.

According to her, it was time to harness local expertise to develop solutions tailored to the continent’s needs.

“We tend to buy technology from the West when we have so much talent on the continent. MTN has a group of software developers, and they are all Africans developing technology for Africa’s future. It is possible,” she added.

She said MTN Ghana remained committed to supporting initiatives that fostered economic growth, digital transformation, and infrastructure development in Africa.

Madam Kwofie said MTN would continue to champion digital innovation and investments that contribute to a prosperous and interconnected Africa.

The Africa Prosperity Dialogues is organised by the Africa Prosperity Network and is aimed at achieving deeper economic integration between African states in outlining its industrialisation priorities.

Among the topics under discussion were the policies that will ensure the successful implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The event brought together many Government and business leaders including Vice President Ghana, Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson, APN Advisory Counsel and Stephen Blewett, CEO of MTN Ghana.

Others are Gwen Mwaba, Managing Director, Afreximbank and Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, Senior Vice President, AfDB among other key stakeholders and partners.

Source: GNA

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