Yaw Kissi : “You want to change Africa? Start a Factory, not a Podcast”
In this sharp commentary, Yaw Kissi calls out the illusion of digital activism as a substitute for real transformation. For him, Africa’s progress hinges not on motivational content but on machines, manufacturing, and ownership of value chains.
By Yaw Kissi*
“You Want to Change Africa? Start a Factory, Not a Podcast”
The real revolution is in ownership. Not likes.
Everyone wants to “inspire” Africa. Few want to build it.
Africa doesn’t need more content. Africa needs capacity
In recent years, we’ve seen a wave of creators, influencers, and motivational speakers flood the digital space, preaching African empowerment on platforms built in Silicon Valley, hosted on servers in Europe, and funded by ad dollars from the West. Everyone has a message. But here’s the truth:
Africa doesn’t need more content.
Africa needs capacity.
The most powerful voice on the continent today? It’s not behind a microphone it’s behind a machine. It’s the hum of a textile loom in Ethiopia, the roar of a cocoa processor in Ghana, the spark of an electric vehicle assembly line in Rwanda. Ownership of production beats ownership of opinion. Every single time.
Because here’s what the algorithm won’t tell you: Likes don’t circulate capital. Retweets don’t reduce imports. Hashtags won’t get us medicine when global supply chains lock down. What will? Local factories. Local ownership. Local solutions.
Ask South Korea how it transformed from a war-torn country in the 1950s to a global economic force: Industrialization. Ask Germany why it weathered COVID better than most: Domestic manufacturing strength. Ask China what gave it geopolitical muscle: Production, not podcasting.
Real empowerment is not motivational quotes. It’s machines on factory floors. It’s jobs for local youth. It’s controlling our value chains, not just our narratives
Africa contributes just 3% of global manufacturing output. That’s not a statistic. That’s a crisis.
Until we can turn raw cotton into finished clothes, process cocoa into chocolate, and assemble our own electronics, we will stay stuck in a cycle of dependence cheering for sovereignty while importing even our most basic goods.
Real empowerment is not motivational quotes. It’s machines on factory floors. It’s jobs for local youth. It’s controlling our value chains, not just our narratives.
Yes, conversations matter. But without factories, they’re just noise. You cannot TikTok your way to industrialization. You cannot “build in public” if you don’t build at all.
You say you want to change Africa?
Then stop talking. Start building.
*Yaw Kissi is an Accra-based economic analyst and writer focusing on Africa’s structural transformation. He writes and speaks regularly about industrial sovereignty and long-term development strategies for the continent.
