Can a Project-Based Approach Unlock Africa’s Development and Integration?

A recent study published by the Policy Centre for the New South underscores the urgent need for Africa to move beyond traditional development models and instead harness its strategic assets to drive growth. The study highlighs that due to persistent structural vulnerabilities and a decline in international aid flows Africa is not on track to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or the objectives outlined in Agenda 2063. In response, the author calls for a profound rethinking of development strategies, emphasizing that Africa’s growth should capitalize on three transformative transitions: digital, energy, and demographic. Each of these transitions offers significant opportunities if properly managed. For instance, the demographic transition could serve as a powerful engine of growth through a dynamic labor force, while the energy transition creates opportunities to establish green energy corridors that align with global sustainability goals.

At the same time, the study acknowledges critical challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, security threats (including piracy and drug trafficking in the Gulf of Guinea), and persistent funding gaps. Overcoming these obstacles, the paper argues, requires renewed political commitment, targeted investments, and coordinated governance among African states. This is particularly important for Atlantic Africa, identified as a strategic subregion with high potential for growth. Comprising 23 African countries along the Atlantic coast, spanning from Morocco to South Africa, this are accounts for 55% of the continent’s GDP and 46% of its population. Its unique geopolitical position, coupled with abundant natural resources, has attracted growing interest from international partners.

Two key initiatives illustrate this renewed approach to regional cooperation:

• The Process of the African Atlantic States, launched in 2022, establishes a framework for consultation and cooperation among Atlantic African countries, with the objective of strengthening security, stability, and shared prosperity.
• The Atlantic Africa Initiative, announced by King Mohammed VI in 2023, seeks to connect landlocked Sahelian states to the Atlantic coast through expanded transport and communication networks in Morocco.

The Nigeria–Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline stands out as a flagship project within this framework. Once completed, the pipeline is expected to transport up to 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, linking Nigeria with Morocco while also supplying landlocked Sahel countries and providing gas exports to Europe.

The central message of the paper is the importance of adopting a project-based approach to Africa’s development and integration. This approach focuses on the implementation of tangible, large-scale, and interconnected transnational projects in critical sectors such as energy, logistics, and digital connectivity. Such projects are intended to generate spillover effects: for example, a shared gas pipeline could necessitate (and accordingly, trigger) regulatory harmonization in concerned States, improved logistics, and policy alignment, thereby fostering further cooperation across sectors.

This incremental, project-driven integration can help to overcome Africa’s long-standing political and economic fragmentation. By building infrastructure that connects countries and facilitates the movement of goods and services, the approach lays the foundation for competitive Regional Value Chains (RVCs). These RVCs promote local processing of raw materials, strengthen domestic industries, and increase value retention within the continent. Moreover, the emphasis on bankable, large-scale projects is designed to attract private capital by demonstrating long-term profitability, thereby reducing reliance on volatile international aid.

Finally, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model, this project-based strategy allows for flexible and differentiated integration, tailored to the needs, capacities, and resources of each region. This makes it especially relevant to Atlantic Africa, where diverse economic structures and resource endowments call for adaptable approaches to regional cooperation and growth. This is a perspective that, in our view, holds significant promise for reshaping Africa’s development trajectory and would deserve further research.