Ghana’s Vice President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has called for a new era of global partnership driven by innovation, youth empowerment, and shared prosperity during her address at the AGORA 2025 Conference in Palermo, Italy.
Speaking to policymakers, private sector leaders, and global development partners, she positioned Africa not as a beneficiary of external aid, but as a rising collaborator shaping its own economic future.
“Africa’s greatest export is no longer raw materials — it is resilience,” she declared, urging the world to move beyond charitable narratives and embrace equitable cooperation in trade, technology and knowledge exchange.
The conference—co-hosted by the World Bank Group Institute for Economic Development, the Bank of Italy, Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, and African institutions—centred on job creation and sustainable economic growth. It links research with policy design under the Africa Growth and Opportunity: Research in Action (AGORA) framework.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang highlighted Ghana’s efforts to build strong social and economic systems, citing education, health financing, and social protection initiatives such as GETFund, the National Health Insurance Scheme, and the LEAP programme as examples of innovation born during challenging periods.
She argued that disruption and crisis often lead to institutional breakthroughs, referencing global lessons like the U.S. Federal Reserve emerging after the 1907 crash and the New Deal following the Great Depression.
With Ghana rolling out its 24-Hour Economy initiative, she emphasized that sustained productivity and inclusive opportunity are essential to future prosperity.
“Progress must never sleep,” she said. “Jobs must be abundant, inclusive and decent. Every generation must pass the baton forward so no hand is left empty.”
Calling on investors and development partners, she positioned Ghana as a nation ready to co-create solutions, not merely receive support.
“Come to Ghana — not only to do business, but to build the future with us,” she urged. “Where youth energy, women’s leadership and government vision advance together like the hands of a clock — never pausing.”
Her message echoed a confident continent ready to turn ambition into action through technology transfer, venture creation and collaborative growth.
