World-renowned economist and public policy expert Professor Jeffrey Sachs has argued that stronger African unity and economic integration are necessary for the continent to increase its influence in a changing global order, while criticising what he described as the role of external powers in maintaining divisions.
Speaking at a Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) dialogue alongside Professor Hippolyte Fofack and GIBS Dean Professor Morris Mthombeni in November 2025, Sachs said the United States and other major powers had historically pursued strategies that limited regional cooperation.
“The United States doesn’t want unity anywhere,” Sachs said, arguing that greater African cooperation could challenge external economic and strategic interests. He added that “divide and conquer is the essence of imperialist strategy”.
Sachs said that “African unity has to be created consciously” and said the continent needed a shared strategy rather than separate approaches across its 55 countries.
He also called for greater financial independence for the African Union (AU), stating: “We will fund ourselves” to ensure African institutions are not dependent on external actors.
The discussion also examined global fragmentation, debt pressures, technology and the rise of a multipolar world, with Sachs and Fofack arguing that Africa’s economic potential would depend on overcoming fragmentation and building greater political and economic cooperation.
ℹ️ Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
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