ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (BG) — As access to international aid declines, African nations must focus on investment and self-sufficiency, World Trade Organization (WTO) ’s Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent suspension of overseas funding.

“Access to aid is becoming a thing of the past,” she said, urging African leaders to “attract investment and mobilize our own domestic resources” rather than rely on foreign assistance.

Okonjo-Iweala emphasized that Africa has the financial institutions to drive growth, pointing to more than 84 national development banks and financial bodies that could be better mobilized and capitalized to support economic expansion.

She also highlighted Africa’s vast mineral wealth—critical for industries such as electric battery production—as a huge opportunity.

With global demand rising for lithium, manganese, and copper, she stressed the importance of local processing to generate jobs and economic value instead of allowing resources to be extracted and refined elsewhere.

“African leaders are recognizing that this is a challenge, but we can also see it as an opportunity,” she stated during a press briefing on February 16, referring to discussions at the African Union Summit.

Her remarks come as developing nations brace for the impact of reduced foreign aid.

Africa’s economic future hinges on strategic investment and resource management, not dependency on external support.