What Africa Needs to Thrive Globally? Ibukun Awosika Breaks It Down

Business leader and founder of the International Women in Leadership Conference (TIWLC), Ibukun Awosika, has called for the urgent aggregation of African and Caribbean businesses into a unified trade platform that can compete on the global stage.

Speaking in a recent interview on #BreakfastDaily with Chris Kata, Ibukun Awosika highlighted the critical role small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play across the continent, stating that 90% of Africa’s productive sector is made up of SMEs. While these businesses produce a wide range of goods, she noted that they remain too small in scale to build sustainable access to international markets.

“We produce a lot, but they’re too small to build international markets. To earn more foreign exchange and improve our economies, we must export more. That means helping these businesses scale up,” she said.

Talking about the African Market Place, she emphasized the vision as an aggregated platform designed to carry African and Caribbean brands across multiple industries into international markets. This effort, she explained, aligns with the African Union’s recent recognition of the Caribbean as the sixth region of Africa, a move that she believes presents a powerful opportunity for unity among Afro-descendants globally.

“If we bring African and Caribbean brands together, we create a larger-scale market that gives us the power to trade amongst ourselves and also sell to the world,” she said.

The platform is intended to foster intra-African and intra-Caribbean trade, while also creating the infrastructure to promote exports. For Awosika, this is not only about economic growth, but about building global visibility and value for African-made products. Asked why Dubai was chosen as the initial hub for the African Market Place, Awosika pointed to its strategic location and international appeal.

“Dubai is a global hub with over 200 nationalities, including Africans. It’s a shopping destination, people come expecting to explore new products. It’s also centrally positioned between Asia, Europe, Africa, and the West, making it a friendly and accessible market for African goods,” she explained. Ibukun Awosika emphasized that Dubai offers a “softer landing” for African entrepreneurs seeking to scale their products internationally, adding that leveraging such hubs is critical for Africa’s long-term economic positioning. For Awosika, the success of African businesses depends on intentional collaboration, shared platforms, and strategic global outreach.