Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs, and Social Development at the African Union Commission (AUC), Ama Twum-Amoah, has called for stronger action to support African enterprises, especially small and medium-sized businesses, women, and young people, to fully benefit from the continent’s single market.

Speaking at the 2026 Africa Prosperity Dialogue, held under the theme “Empowering SMEs, Women and Youth in Africa’s Single Market: Innovate, Collaborate, Trade”, she said that small and medium-sized enterprises account for more than 90 per cent of businesses in Africa and provide over 80 per cent of employment.

Despite this, many are unable to expand beyond their local markets. “Too many remain local by necessity rather than continental by design. An integrated market that excludes SMEs is not integration. It is exclusion.”

She called for deliberate efforts to help African businesses grow and compete across borders.

“We must move African enterprises from survival to scale, from informality to competitiveness, and from domestic reach to continental impact,” she said.

she said Africa’s economic integration cannot succeed if Africans are unable to move freely across the continent.

“Integration cannot deepen if Africans remain strangers to one another. If we are serious about prosperity, then we must be equally serious about implementing the protocol on the free movement of persons.”

She appealed to African countries to speed up the ratification of the protocol, noting that progress so far has been slow.

“We need all 55 African member states to come on board. As it stands now, only four member states have ratified, while 32 have signed. For the protocol to come into force, we need a minimum of 15 member states to ratify,” she said.

Ms Amoah urged participants at the dialogue to take personal responsibility in pushing the agenda forward.

“Let all of us leave this dialogue not merely as participants, but as ambassadors for free movement. Because when Africans move, Africa moves forward. And without a borderless Africa, our development and prosperity will be stunted.”

Turning to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), she described the current period as a critical moment in Africa’s economic journey.

“Africa stands at a defining moment in its economic history. Through the AfCFTA, we have created the largest single market in the world by number of countries, with over 1.4 billion people and a combined GDP exceeding three trillion dollars.”

However, she cautioned that policies alone would not deliver prosperity. “Markets do not feed people. People do. Economies do not grow from policy frameworks alone. They grow from enterprise.”

She said that small businesses, women, and young people are central to the success of Africa’s integration agenda.

“If the AfCFTA engine is the transformation for Africa, then SMEs, women, and youth are its power source. Without them, the engine cannot run. Without them, integration cannot deliver prosperity.”

Highlighting Africa’s demographic strength, Ms Amoah described the continent’s young population and entrepreneurial women as its greatest economic advantage.

“Africa is the youngest continent on Earth, and African women are among the most entrepreneurial globally. This is not merely a demographic reality. It is Africa’s greatest economic advantage.”

She acknowledged, however, that major challenges remain.

“Financing gaps persist. Market access remains unyielding. Informality continues to suppress growth,” she said.

She said that empowering women and young people is not just a social goal, but an economic necessity.

“Empowering women and youth is not a social gesture. It is an economic strategy for our continent. When women thrive, economies expand. When youth innovate, productivity rises. When opportunity is shared, stability follows. And Africa needs that.”