Burkina Faso's main growth constraints include insecurity, limited economic diversification, climate change and variability and low agricultural activity. To address these challenges, the country must adopt modern farming techniques, invest in value-add activities to transform the economy and reinforce adaptation measure in agriculture to mitigate the negative side-effects of climate change.

Guinea faces a number of challenges: political instability, poor governance, corruption and low agricultural productivity. To combat these issues and ensure the country grows sustainably, Guinea must invest in modern irrigation systems and farming inputs, enhance public sector efficiency and reduce its dependancy on the export of raw materials.

Intra-Africa trade is limited, with the result that countries trade more with the outside world than among themselves. The success of the AfCFTA will be determined by regional value chains with frictionless trade, fast customs procedures and cost-efficient multimodal transit corridors. Effecitve implementation will ultimately come down to the actions of leadership and interests at the country level.

While the narrative on Africa is changing, much of the African economy is still characterised by low productivity mainly because of its poor human capital endowment. For the continent to fully realise the potential of its youthful population, the promise of technological innovation and high levels of entrepreneurial energy that could drive transformation, strong governance and regional cooperation will be essential.

The continent must tackle inequality, governance gaps and environmental challenges to unlock its potential. At the heart of change is the need to improve governance, particularly effectiveness and accountability, reduce corruption to attract investments and help one another to achieve stability.