Pan-African executive course launches in Accra

By Ernest Bako WUBONTO

A high-level executive short course designed to strengthen Africa’s capacity to implement the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in the automotive sector opened in Accra on Monday, drawing senior government officials and policy-makers from across the continent.

The six-week programme, hosted by the Association of African Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) in collaboration with the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, Afreximbank, the Toyota Wessels Institute for Manufacturing Studies (TWIMS) and GIZ, focuses squarely on translating continental trade ambitions into concrete national and regional automotive policies.

The opening ceremony underscored the critical role of targeted executive education in unlocking industrial development, creating jobs and building regional value chains that can compete globally.

Professor Justin Barnes, Executive Director of TWIMS, said the programme blends rigorous academic inquiry with immediate practical application.

“It’s an academic programme, but with a very clear set of practical applications. How do we use the automotive industry to support industrial development on the continent? How do we create regional value chains that both expand and deepen the automotive industry’s contribution to development on the continent?” he said.

The course begins with a seminar week in Accra, where participants explore the nature of global automotive value chains, assembly opportunities, component production and the potential in large vehicle fleets operating across Africa.

After building a common understanding, they will spend approximately six weeks working remotely on syndicate projects that develop strategies for growing markets and production in West, North, East/Central and Southern Africa.

The programme culminates in a best-practice study week in Durban, South Africa, from August 3 to 7, featuring visits to advanced manufacturing facilities and a technology centre, followed by participant presentations and a graduation ceremony.

Professor Barnes expressed confidence that the second cohort would replicate the success of last year’s inaugural group, noting the enthusiasm of participants drawn from multiple African nations.

Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy in Accra, Johanna Klotz, contrasted the adaptive struggles of legacy car-producing nations from fossil fuel to electric vehicles (EVs) with the fresh possibilities on the continent to take off with EVs.

“By building our car industry focused on electric vehicles from the start, you could leapfrog and be much more innovative than an industry that needs to reinvent itself,” Klotz said.

She highlighted Ghana’s transition from a purely import-driven market to an emerging regional assembly hub, an industry now valued at approximately US$2.2 billion and employing between 3,000 and 4,000 people.

Germany has supported this shift through the establishment of the Ghana Automotive Development Centre (GADC) and the creation of a financing system that makes locally assembled vehicles more accessible.

However, Klotz warned that sustained progress depends on unwavering commitment. “Policy credibility and investment stability are immensely important for long-term investors,” she stressed.

She further announced that the German African Business Summit (GABS) to be held in Accra this November would feature a dedicated automotive session, offering further networking and investment opportunities.

Vice-President of AAAM, Jeffrey Oppong Peprah, framed the executive course as a direct answer to the continent’s historic industrial gaps.

Drawing on his experience in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, he asserted that automotive success is no accident.

“Industrial success does not happen by accident. It requires policy certainty, skills development, strategic partnerships, infrastructure and, most importantly, a shared vision between governments and industry,” Mr. Peprah said.

He described three forces reshaping the global industry simultaneously: government policies, electrification and digitalisation, and artificial intelligence; and insisted that Africa must use the AfCFTA to turn these forces into leverage.

He called the free trade area ‘not merely a trade agreement but an industrialisation strategy’ that can allow one country to manufacture components, another to assemble vehicles and yet others to specialise in batteries, software or logistics.

This integrated vision, he argued, would reverse the pattern of exporting raw materials and talent without capturing value locally.

The executive short course directly addresses the fragmented markets and policy inconsistencies that have long limited the sector. By guiding senior officials through the economics of assembly, component manufacturing, aftersales and digital mobility services, the programme aims to produce practical, AfCFTA-aligned policy frameworks tailored to each country or region.

Organisers expect that participants will leave with a deep understanding of global and African automotive markets; and will be equipped to foster regional collaboration that strengthens the continent’s competitive edge.

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