LAST WEEK the African Union Commission (AUC) organised another High-Level Private Sector Forum. This one was elevated because it was “on the sidelines” of the AU Heads of State Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

In attendance to conduct the formal opening of the event was the AUC Chairperson himself – H.E.  Mahmoud Ali Youssef – warming the private sector’s cheeks at having such eminence in our midst.

My happiness, and probably that of a few others, came from the section in the invitation letter that read: “Dressing Code: African Attire”.

In general, ‘African dress’ is provided for in the African Union policies under a section titled ‘Ethics’ (for some reason).

I was happy because it seemed to me that the campaigns to go fully African in the simplest things seem to be working.

Uganda’s Vice President, Maj. Jessica Alupo, understood the assignment, causing Abyssinia to erupt in loud applause when the airplane doors opened and she stepped off the plane resplendently clad in a Habesha dress.

Strangely, though, inside the room where our historic meeting was held were very many men still wearing European suits and neckties; refusing to Be Serious about being African even after being given instructions in writing.

Their appearance was at odds with how historical the day was supposed to be for all of us. It tore to shreds a message we could have and should have sent to the entire world, starting with our fellow Africans.

See, I argued during my discussions, the AU’s instruction for us to follow an African dress code was a small policy instrument that certainly put money directly into the bank accounts and pockets of many Africans.

Just like that, all attendants would have paid fellow Africans for garments, which payments would be shared by African garment-makes, and in doing so earned African designers an income as well or, at the very least, Continent-wide visibility.

And that, I told participants, is where the governments across Africa can play a big role in encouraging the private sector to meet Agenda 2063.

(Besides the more serious objective of the optics and visibility – mindset change).

Agenda 2063 should be clear to all of us: it’s the AU’s (therefore Africa’s) 50-year plan with seven (7) core aspirations: 

A Prosperous Africa (inclusive growth and sustainable development); An Integrated Continent (politically united and Pan-African); Good Governance (democracy and accountability); Peaceful and Secure (silence the guns and develop home-grown conflict resolution); Strong Cultural Identity (promote a common heritage, shared values, and ethics); People-Driven Development (unleash the potential of women, youth, and children); Strong Global Player (make Africa a united, influential partner on the world stage). 

H.E. Youssef said quite well in his opener how historic our meeting was because of the importance the private sector was being given and the role they had to play:  

“Africa cannot always export raw materials. Our continent represents 1.4billion people whose majority is young, and we have 30% of the world’s critical raw material reserves, amongst other sources of wealth. But Africa’s share of the world’s manufacturing sector is minimal. This situation should not hinder us – we need to amend the historical hinderances,” he said.

“YOU are the architects! That is why we propose the establishment of a permanent dialogue with the private sector to create a results-focused mechanism at this critical stage in our history,” he said.

And so we gathered – policy makers, leaders of governments and heads of private sector entities from across the Continent.

The historical hindrances hinge on the Berlin Agreement of 1885 that I complain about bitterly almost daily – plus the mindset that makes us wear European clothing in tropical Africa.

The historical hinderances include the poor policies of the past that keep us from doing the simplest things to fix this continent.

If African governments applied the African attire dress code approach to other spheres our economies would be bursting at the seams like tight clothing on an African earning lots of money.

One compatriot at the event was interested in furniture so I used that as an example:

Africa’s furniture market in 2024 was modestly estimated at US$20billion. Africa, though, produces only an estimated US$7.5billion worth of furniture – which means we are importing 63% of our furniture needs – US$12.5billion annually.

Yet, according to online figures, we export timber worth US$5.5billion and leather worth US$3billion annually – all of which go with the jobs that make the furniture that we import (assuming there is no plastic or other material involved).

Now, in general, government procurement accounts for 30% of such calculations.

If all African governments decided by policy pronouncements and executions to only buy furniture from African suppliers in Africa who use African raw materials, see how much we are losing as a Continent and a people?

And that is why we – the private sector – needed to be in that room in Addis Ababa, holding ‘high level’ discussions with leaders within our governments along with their policy-maker gurus.

Ethiopia’s Dr. Brook Taye, who heads their Ethiopian Investment Holdings, was resolute in his remarks about how Africans need to take charge of fixing Africa and that it doesn’t need decades of thought and work.

“In Ethiopia we are clear that this is our home, so when there is a challenge we are the ones who fix it. We used to import wheat. We realised we could change that and within five years we have become a net exporter of wheat. We identify what needs to be done, we are pragmatic about it, and we go and get it done,” he said.

He did not brag. He did not shout. He stated facts.

In summary, it sounded like a catchy sportswear advertisement: Just Do It.

In reality, it’s what we need to do. Just Do It. Do the right things; adopt the right policies; change your mindset from captive Eurocentric to African; wear African attire. 

Be Serious about Africa.