For Africa to move forward, Africans must be allowed to cross borders

President William Ruto, his counterpart Emmanuel Macron and other leaders at the Africa Forward Summit opening in Nairobi. [PCS]

As African and French leaders, investors, and business executives gathered in Nairobi last week for the Africa Forward Summit 2026, co-hosted by Presidents William Ruto and France’s Emmanuel Macron, much of the conversation focused on trade, industrialisation, infrastructure and investment.

But one of the most important questions shaping Africa’s economic future still receives far too little attention: who is allowed to move, work and contribute to Africa’s growth?

For years, African governments have advocated for regional integration while maintaining systems that continue to restrict labour mobility for the millions of workers, entrepreneurs, traders and displaced people already driving regional economies. 

A serious conversation around this issue is crucial, especially at this forum, because both Africa and Europe are facing major labour market and demographic shifts that cannot be addressed through isolated national or continental policies alone.

This is an opportunity to move the conversation beyond migration management toward practical economic cooperation by supporting policies, partnerships and investments that make mobility safer, more legal, and more productive for both people and businesses.

A newly launched report by Amahoro Coalition on labour mobility highlights a reality policymakers can no longer afford to ignore: migration within Africa is overwhelmingly regional and economic in nature.

Economic systems

Between 70 and 80 per cent of African migration takes place within the continent itself.

In many parts of West, Central and East Africa, cross-border movement has existed for generations, particularly among border communities that often share the same languages, cultures and economic systems across modern state boundaries.

Refugees, asylum seekers, traders, seasonal workers and economic migrants frequently move through the same economic corridors in search of safety, work and opportunity.

Yet policies continue to treat these movements as entirely separate and, in some cases, illegal categories.

The result is a growing disconnect between economic reality and political systems.

Existing labour mobility frameworks still prioritise highly skilled professionals while restricting the broader workforce already sustaining regional economies.

Businesses struggle to access labour efficiently across borders, workers are pushed into informal systems, and irregular migration continues to grow.

Research increasingly shows that the movement of people drives innovation, productivity, and industrial growth.

Even modest increases in short-term labour mobility are associated with higher rates of innovation among African firms, particularly in product and service development. 

When workers, entrepreneurs and professionals move more easily, knowledge spreads faster, regional markets become more integrated, and businesses grow more competitively.

As Africa and Europe face major demographic and economic shifts, there is a growing opportunity to deepen collaboration around labour mobility, skills, and economic inclusion.

While many European economies, including France, are dealing with ageing populations and workforce shortages, Africa is home to the world’s youngest and fastest-growing workforce. 

Our call today is to approach mobility, whether forced or voluntary, as part of a broader labour market conversation that can support innovation, industrial growth, and more resilient economies on both sides.

Achieving this will require stronger partnerships between governments, businesses, and regional institutions, with platforms such as the and the offering important opportunities to turn dialogue into concrete action.

At Amahoro Coalition, this belief sits at the centre of our work. Across the continent, we mobilise the private sector to create jobs and economic opportunities for displaced people because inclusion is not charity. It is smart economics.

We invite governments, businesses, investors, and development partners to join us in building the partnerships needed to address the growing pressures around labour markets, mobility, displacement, and demographic change.

These challenges are evolving faster than any single institution or country can tackle alone.

This forum provides the right platform to forge stronger relationships with like-minded partners across Africa and Europe who are ready to align economic opportunity with the realities of human mobility.

The most effective migration policy is not stricter borders. It is stronger regional economies.

The author is the curator at Amahoro Coalition