Africa is an opportunity, not a risk — that was the message Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama delivered to an audience of business leaders and policymakers in London on Wednesday, as he pushed for a fundamental shift in how Britain engages with the continent.
Speaking at The Africa Debate 2026 at the historic Guildhall in the City of London, the event now in its 12th year and regarded as the UK’s foremost platform for high-level dialogue on Africa’s economic future, Mahama called for the relationship between Africa and Britain to transcend its historical mould. He urged London to move away from a posture defined by charity toward one built on commerce.
“Africa is not a risk to be managed. Africa is an opportunity to be seized,” Mahama said. He called for the relationship with Britain to “evolve from one that is primarily shaped by aid to one that is anchored in enterprise innovation and investment.”
The remarks come days after Mahama headlined the Ghana-UK Investment Summit in London, where he told assembled investors that bilateral trade between the two countries already exceeds £1.5 billion annually, but that this “only scratches the surface of what is possible.”
Mahama also turned his attention to the global debt architecture, arguing it is failing African economies. Ghana restructured its debt under the G20’s Common Framework, a mechanism critics say is slow, creditor-driven and no longer fit for purpose. Only four countries, Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Zambia have applied for debt relief under the framework, and some applicants experienced significant delays.
“Debt restructuring mechanisms must become faster, fairer and more inclusive,” Mahama said, adding calls for debt reform that supports development and for adequate climate finance for the continent.
Ghana itself has come a long way since its 2022 debt default, which forced a sweeping restructuring of both external and domestic obligations. It was assessed at the time that Ghana’s public debt needed to decline from nearly 90 percent of GDP to 55 percent, requiring significant debt service reductions in the near term. Growth picked up pace towards the end of 2025, though first-quarter 2026 data, which could reflect the economic ripple effects of the Iran war, has yet to be released.
The West African nation, endowed with gold, oil, and cocoa, is now pressing forward with infrastructure upgrades, energy reliability improvements, and skills development as the pillars of a sustainable recovery, Mahama said.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah