Nations, businesses, and societies today have far greater freedom to pursue diverse global partnerships in pursuit of their strategic goals across trade, technology, climate, security, and beyond. As power diffuses and supply chains realign, the long-standing assumptions that once governed global trade are being re-examined and redefined. In this shifting geopolitical landscape, the hallmark of effective leadership is no longer sheer speed or scale, but judgment and foresight.
Historically, Africa has been positioned at the margins of global geopolitics rather than recognised as an active force shaping it. From the era of colonial extraction, through Cold War proxy conflicts, to decades defined by aid dependency, the continent has seldom steered the direction of the global economy. Yet as the world moves toward multipolarity, Africa now has an opportunity to redefine its role and emerge as a key architect of a new global order.
Africa House at Davos was established in recognition that the future will be shaped not by those who merely respond to change, but by those who anticipate it, design the systems that channel value, and assert their place in the global economic framework. By 2026, the mandate is unmistakable: Africa must transition from extractive relationships toward equitable models rooted in shared prosperity and mutual respect.
A permanent platform for African-led strategy
Africa House was created to serve as a consistent and credible home for African-driven perspectives at the world’s most influential gatherings. It is not a symbolic gesture, but a practical action platform—bringing together policymakers, investors, and innovators to unlock the continent’s potential through collaboration, execution, and long-term alignment.
For too long, Africa’s participation in global forums has been sporadic, often shaped by crisis narratives, aid agendas, or extractive interests. Africa House seeks to reverse this pattern by convening leaders who view Africa not as a challenge to be managed, but as an essential partner in shaping the next phase of global growth.
Africa’s prosperity is no longer optional for global stability—it is fundamental to it. By 2050, one in four people worldwide will be African. The continent will account for the largest labour force, the youngest population, and some of the world’s most strategically important assets, including critical minerals, clean energy resources, data, creative industries, and expanding consumer markets.
As the world enters a multipolar era defined more by choice than certainty, even the African diaspora—sending between $95bn and $100bn annually in remittances—represents a largely under-engineered economic channel. With the right structures in place, these flows could shift from supporting consumption to driving investment, innovation, and skills exchange.
Why Davos still matters for Africa
Davos remains one of the rare environments where trade rules, capital movements, and institutional priorities are shaped—often informally, but with lasting impact. It is where alliances are forged, trust is tested, and future trajectories are quietly set. Africa House operates within this ecosystem to ensure Africa’s engagement is unified, sustained, and led by Africans themselves—rather than dispersed across side events or mediated by others.
As Shanthi Annan, co-founder and CEO of Africa House, notes: “Africa House exists to position the continent as a co-designer of the global economic order.”
Africa’s record of leapfrogging—from mobile money to decentralised energy—offers valuable insights for economies burdened by legacy systems. Its youthful demographics counterbalance ageing societies. Its cultural industries are influencing global tastes. Its technology ecosystems are increasingly international in scope. Africa is no longer catching up; it is setting the pace.
Despite this, Africa is still too often portrayed as a passive beneficiary of external assistance. Africa House reframes the continent’s geostrategic and economic realities as propositions for partnership—rooted in African expertise, ambition, and intentional design.
The African imperative is not about inclusion—it is about agency. Africa is not asking for a place at an existing table; it is building its own and inviting partners to engage as equals. This requires co-designing systems, jointly shaping value chains, and collectively defining the rules of engagement in a multipolar world.
