African nations have been urged to urgently mobilise financing for industrialisation amid global shifts towards subsidies and strategic state intervention in trade and industrial policy. Speakers at the opening of the 2026 Africa Trade Summit in Accra said the resurgence of aggressive industrial policy worldwide presented both risks and opportunities for Africa, particularly under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Quoting the International Monetary Fund’s Industrial Policy Observatory, she said more than 33,000 industrial policy interventions were implemented globally between 2009 and 2023, with subsidies emerging as the dominant instrument. She said the Africa Trade Summit was designed to address those structural challenges and mobilise coordinated action among governments, the private sector and development partners. The two-day Summit, organised by the African Trade Chamber and its partners, has brought together policymakers, business leaders, investors and development partners to advance intra-African trade, industrialisation and AfCFTA implementation.