If Politics Couldn’t Unite Africa, Can Business Do It?

From Aliko Dangote to William Ruto, a new question is emerging: can African businesses bring the continent closer together, even when governments struggle to agree?

Imagine a Ghanaian businessman who wants to sell cement in Kenya, a Nigerian factory owner who wants to supply fuel to Tanzania, and a farmer in Uganda who wants to sell food to customers in Rwanda. All of them are looking for the same thing: a bigger market for their products. But to succeed, they need good roads, reliable transport, affordable electricity, simple customs procedures and governments willing to make trade between their countries easier.

Now imagine what could happen if millions of African businesses could trade with one another as easily as they trade with customers within their own countries. More factories could open, more jobs could be created, and more of the money generated from Africa's resources could remain within the continent.

This is the bigger question behind the meeting between Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote and Kenyan President William Ruto over plans for a major oil refinery in Kenya. Beyond the billions of dollars involved, the project raises a question that Africa has been struggling with for decades: if politics has failed to bring Africans together as one economic force, can business succeed where political leaders have struggled?

THE DREAM OF A UNITED AFRICA

When African countries gained independence from colonial rule, many leaders believed that political freedom should lead to economic freedom as well. They wanted African countries to control their resources, build their own industries and reduce their dependence on foreign powers.

Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, was one of the strongest supporters of a united Africa. He believed that African countries would have greater strength if they worked together instead of operating as small, separate markets.

But political unity has proved difficult to achieve. African countries have different governments, different economic priorities and different relationships with foreign countries. Leaders who speak about African unity must also consider their own national interests, political survival and the needs of their citizens.

As a result, many African countries continue to trade more easily with markets outside the continent than with their neighbours, while businesses face expensive transport, complicated border procedures and unreliable infrastructure.

Africa has gained political independence, but building an economy that allows its countries to benefit fully from one another remains unfinished business.

WHEN BUSINESS STARTS BUILDING BRIDGES

This is where Dangote's business ambitions and Ruto's development plans become relevant.

The proposed refinery in Kenya is intended to serve a wider East African market rather than only Kenyan customers. At the scale being discussed, the project would need access to reliable supplies of crude oil, strong transport links and customers across several countries to achieve its full commercial potential.

The idea is simple: Kenya could become a centre for processing fuel, while neighbouring countries could benefit from access to petroleum products without each having to build an equally large refinery of its own.

If the project succeeds, it could encourage more investment, create jobs and strengthen trade between countries that share the same regional market. However, the refinery is a proposed development, and its financing, construction, supply arrangements and long-term performance will determine whether these benefits become reality.

This is how business can encourage cooperation. A factory needs customers. Customers need reliable supplies. Transport companies need roads and ports. Investors need clear laws and stable business conditions. When countries work together to meet these needs, cooperation becomes valuable not only to politicians but also to ordinary people.

A business owner may not care whether two presidents agree on every political issue. What matters is whether goods can cross their borders, payments can be made safely and products can reach customers at a reasonable cost.

CAN THE WEST STOP AFRICA FROM BECOMING ECONOMICALLY INDEPENDENT?

This question becomes more complicated when we consider Africa's relationship with the rest of the world.

Many African countries depend on foreign companies for technology, machinery, financing and specialised skills. They also depend on international markets to sell their raw materials and buy finished products. These relationships can bring investment and opportunities, but they can also leave countries vulnerable when prices change, financing becomes expensive or access to important markets is restricted.

Foreign governments and companies can influence business through trade rules, financial conditions, investment decisions and competition. But it would be misleading to suggest that all Western countries act together against African development, or that every obstacle facing African businesses comes from outside the continent.

African countries also face problems of their own, including poor infrastructure, inconsistent policies, corruption, disagreements over trade and limited access to affordable financing.

The real challenge is to build African businesses that are strong enough to compete internationally without being completely dependent on outside support.

Consider a simple example. If Ghana exports cocoa beans but imports expensive chocolate, much of the manufacturing profit is earned elsewhere. If Ghana can process more cocoa locally and sell finished chocolate across Africa, it has an opportunity to earn more from the same resource.

The same principle applies to oil, minerals, agricultural products and technology. Africa's economic position changes when it does more than supply raw materials and begins to manufacture, process and sell finished products.

Economic independence does not mean refusing to do business with the West, China or any other region. It means having enough local industries, skills, financing and trading partners to negotiate from a stronger position.

BUT CAN BUSINESS REALLY UNITE AFRICA?

There is a danger in assuming that business leaders will automatically put Africa's interests first.

A successful company is built to make money. Its owners must consider costs, competition, profits and the risks of investing in different countries. A large project can create jobs and improve infrastructure, but its benefits may not reach everyone equally.

A refinery, for example, may reduce dependence on imported finished fuel, but questions remain about who owns the facility, where the crude oil comes from, how profits are shared and whether local workers and businesses receive meaningful opportunities.

There are also concerns about land use, environmental protection and the effects of large industrial projects on nearby communities. These issues matter because economic growth should improve people's lives, not simply increase the wealth of a few investors.

Business can connect African countries, but governments must ensure that the rules are fair, communities are protected and local businesses have a chance to participate.

Otherwise, Africa could replace dependence on foreign companies with dependence on a small number of powerful African corporations.

The objective should be broader than creating African billionaires. It should be about building an economy in which ordinary Africans have better jobs, more opportunities and greater control over the value produced from their own resources.

AFRICA DOES NOT HAVE TO WAIT FOR POLITICAL UNITY

One of the most important lessons is that African countries do not need to agree on every political issue before they can work together economically.

Ghana and Nigeria can disagree on certain policies while their businesses trade with each other. Kenya and Tanzania can pursue different national priorities while cooperating on transport, energy and tourism. Businesses across the continent can build partnerships even when governments have different views on international affairs.

The African Continental Free Trade Area was created to make trade between African countries easier by reducing trade barriers and creating a larger market for African goods and services. However, agreements on paper are only the beginning. Businesses still need functioning roads, reliable electricity, access to financing and border procedures that do not make regional trade unnecessarily expensive.

Imagine if an African manufacturer could sell products to customers in ten African countries without facing a different set of unnecessary obstacles at every border. The company could produce more, employ more people and compete with international manufacturers on a larger scale.

That is the practical meaning of economic integration: countries becoming more connected through the goods they produce, the services they provide and the markets they share.

A NEW KIND OF AFRICAN LIBERATION

Africa's struggle for independence was largely about ending colonial rule and gaining the freedom to govern itself. But political independence alone could not guarantee economic strength.

Today, another challenge remains: building industries that create value, connecting markets across borders and giving African businesses the opportunity to compete on a continental scale.

The relationship between Dangote and Ruto, and the proposed refinery in Kenya, provides a reason to examine what this future could look like. But one project, however ambitious, cannot unite an entire continent. Its real significance will depend on whether it delivers its promises and whether similar cooperation spreads into other sectors, including manufacturing, agriculture, energy, transport and technology.

The future of African unity may not begin with a single African president or a grand political declaration. It may begin with a factory that supplies several countries, a transport network that connects regional markets, a technology company that makes cross-border payments easier, or a farmer who can sell produce beyond national borders.

These may seem like small steps compared with the dream of a politically united Africa, but together they could change how the continent produces, trades and grows.

If politics could not fully unite Africa, perhaps business can help build the connections that politics has struggled to create. The ultimate question is whether this new economic cooperation will deliver greater prosperity and opportunity for Africans themselves.

Because the next stage of African liberation may not be about who controls the flag, but who controls the value created from the continent's resources, industries and ideas.