Africa’s GDP could surge by $1.4 trillion with improved productivity

The Chief Executive Officer of Africa Context Advisory Partners, Michael Ikpoki, said improved productivity can potentially add about $1.4 trillion to Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Mr Ikpoki, a former CEO of MTN Nigeria, disclosed this while speaking at the maiden edition of the PREMIUM TIMES Employability Summit 2025, held in Lagos on Thursday.

“If we can improve productivity, we can potentially add about $1.4 trillion to Africa’s GDP. Currently, Africa’s GDP is around $2.8 trillion to $2.9 trillion,” he said.

Themed “Converting Nigeria’s Demography into Assets,” the summit was organised by PREMIUM TIMES in partnership with Business School Netherlands, Seven Up Bottling Company, The SME Scale Up.

The summit brought together top players in government, business, academia and civil society to deliberate on practical solutions to Nigeria’s persistent employment challenges, particularly among young people.

Speaking at the event, Mr Ikpoki emphasised the importance of harnessing the potential of Nigeria’s diverse workforce and local businesses to drive productivity, while noting that power and infrastructure deficits are major obstacles to productivity growth in Africa.

“To achieve the level of productivity and employability we need, we must harness cross-generational benefits,” he said.

He stressed that productivity is crucial for economic growth, job creation, and generating economic value.

“It’s the productivity of workers and businesses that translates into GDP. As we create more quality jobs, and as more people perform better in their roles, creating value, companies grow. SMEs grow, individuals prosper. Cumulatively, the economy expands. Productivity is key,” he said.

He said enhanced productivity would support industrial expansion, intercontinental trade, and economic diversification, especially when driven by digital transformation.

“From an African standpoint, accelerating productivity requires accelerating digitisation.”

Mr Ikpoki emphasised the need to grow larger indigenous companies in Nigeria to stimulate the economy.

“We need to build bigger companies within our environment. Interestingly, Africa has about 345 companies with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion. Roughly 66 per cent of these are home-grown. However, over 40 per cent are in South Africa, while only 7 per cent are in Nigeria,” he said.

Highlighting the economic importance of productivity, he added that Nigeria’s GDP per capita has dropped from about $2,200 a decade ago to less than $900 today.

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“It boils down to the kind of environments and workplace cultures we build to get the best out of people. For us to achieve the productivity and employability we need, we must embrace these cross-generational opportunities.

“The key question for leaders and managers is: how do we do this constructively?” he asked.

In his opening remarks, Oladeinde Olawoyin, Business Editor at PREMIUM TIMES, described the summit as a vital platform for addressing one of Nigeria’s most urgent challenges: youth employability.

“With a young and rapidly growing population, Nigeria stands at a crossroads. We must urgently convert our demographic strength into productive, inclusive economic assets,” he said.

The summit ended with a fireside chat between Mr Olawoyin, and Ajibola Babalola, Employability Project Officer at the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF). Mr Babalola represented the executive secretary of the fund, Feyisayo Alayande.