Fuelled by the demise of USAID and the decline of aid overall, and epitomised by the "Accra reset", African policymakers are moving from a defensive "compliance" stance toward an offensive one centred on achieving production sovereignty.
While a full break from the old system is not yet established, and the pressure to trade sovereignty for aid is still acute, a fundamental strategic shift is now visible across many African capitals and rural areas.
For decades, the continent's economy was a trap: export raw materials, import finished goods and ship out the value-added jobs in the process. It was a costly paradox, in which local consumption relied on foreign production and intellectual property. That era is ending, accelerated by the shifts in the global donor landscape. A growing number of African policymakers are abandoning the posture of rule-takers for that of strategic risk-takers.
