The African continent is set to discuss economic transformation with Asian decision-makers in Bangkok on October 14, 2026. The agenda includes growth, industrialisation, and climate, but a more fundamental question lies beneath: what model of development does Africa truly want to adopt, and who will be held accountable for its implementation? This is not a theoretical debate, but a choice of sovereignty that has significant implications for the continent's future.
For decades, Africa has opted for modernisation, importing models, systems, and institutions designed elsewhere. However, the results have been mixed, and underlying trends are troubling. In several countries, debt service absorbs up to 72 per cent of public revenue, with African states devoting an average of 17 per cent of their revenues to it - often more than to health or education. These figures have external causes, including costly capital, ratings, and conditionalities, but also internal factors such as weak tax systems and captured contracts.
The distinction between modernisation and development is crucial. Modernisation imports models, while development invents and builds from within. As long as the two are confused, dependence is reproduced in the name of progress. The use of techniques such as factories, budget arithmetic, and ports is not inherently "Western" but rather a matter of imposing feedback and accountability. The problem lies not in borrowing tools but in leaving them to networks without accountability.
One example of this issue is the signing of infrastructure contracts without competitive bidding, at above-market prices, with companies linked to circles of power. The loan is contracted, but the asset often fails to produce expected revenue, leaving the debt intact. This is not a problem of the model but of the regime. African leaders were not passive in this process; they signed and allocated resources, highlighting the need for accountability.
The concept of Ubuntu, which carries an idea of power as responsibility and prosperity as a common good, is an important African resource. However, without meritocracy, the collective can become a closed circle. Meritocracy is not the enemy of Ubuntu but its condition of credibility. The Abdou Samb Foundation is committed to promoting talent and opportunity, recognising that talent without opportunity remains a promise in suffering.
The Asian experience offers valuable lessons. Countries such as China, Singapore, Malaysia, and India did not reject calculation, competition, and competence but used tools with state discipline and a demand for results. What separates one trajectory from another is not the model displayed but the capacity to make money work, punish failure, and not turn loans into a lifestyle.
The African youth, recognised as the seventh region of the African Union, has a critical role to play in this process. To be a lever for change, this region must have a right of initiative, real representation in decisions, its own budget, access rules based on merit, and public evaluation of its action. The choice is not an abstract binary but a choice of regime: responsibility or impunity, tools in the service of a project, or tools captured by a network.
Key points
- The African continent must choose between modernisation and development.
- The use of techniques such as factories and ports is not inherently "Western" but rather a matter of imposing feedback and accountability.
- African youth have a critical role to play in promoting a new development model.
