President Paul Kagame used the opening of the Africa CEO Forum on Thursday to argue that African countries must become more assertive in defending their economic and political interests as global powers compete for influence, minerals and markets across the continent. Speaking during a moderated fireside discussion at the forum in Kigali, Kagame said Africa continues to hold enormous strategic value but remains unable to fully benefit from its resources because of weak collective action and continued dependence on external powers. “We are in a different cycle now that is driven geopolitically,

President Paul Kagame used the opening of the Africa CEO Forum on Thursday to argue that African countries must become more assertive in defending their economic and political interests as global powers compete for influence, minerals and markets across the continent.

Speaking during a moderated fireside discussion at the forum in Kigali, Kagame said Africa continues to hold enormous strategic value but remains unable to fully benefit from its resources because of weak collective action and continued dependence on external powers.

“We are in a different cycle now that is driven geopolitically,” Kagame said, describing current global tensions as part of a longer historical pattern that has repeatedly left Africa vulnerable to outside influence.

The Africa CEO Forum, held this year under the theme “Scale or Fail: Why Africa Must Embrace Shared Ownership,” brought together more than 2,000 investors, policymakers and business leaders from over 75 countries for talks focused on industrialization, regional trade and investment.

Kagame said the continent possesses major advantages, including critical minerals needed for green technologies, vast solar energy potential and a rapidly growing population that could become a powerful consumer market.

Yet despite those assets, he argued that Africa continues to lose strategic and economic value because stronger economies still dominate global supply chains and pricing structures tied to African resources.

“Different powers are fighting over that,” Kagame said of critical minerals, “but Africa that has a lot of that is silent or losing most of it cheaply.”

Kagame said Africa’s main challenge is no longer identifying its problems but implementing solutions collectively and consistently.

“We need to come together and do something about it,” he said.

At several points, Kagame criticized what he described as the contradiction between Western political messaging and the continued extraction of African wealth by more powerful nations.

Without naming specific countries, he accused foreign powers of publicly promoting democratic values while simultaneously pursuing economic interests on the continent.

“These powers you see that come here lecturing people democracy, human rights,” Kagame said, “and they are doing it in one arm and the other, they are just taking away everything that people own.”

Kagame also compared modern geopolitical influence to older imperial systems in which powerful states extended control through political and economic networks.

“In the old days, the kings and so on used to give their in-laws, their children, powers, say, go and control something somewhere,” he said. “And this is happening today.”

Despite his criticism of the global system, Kagame suggested that growing geopolitical pressure could push African countries toward greater self-reliance and coordination.

“My view is that these pressures that we get from the rest of the world,” he said, “Africa, I think, is being reminded to wake up.”

In a sharper appeal to African leaders and business figures, he added: “We need to give ourselves value of some kind. We cannot be people who are just waiting to be ripped off by somebody who is shrewd enough to come. We must be able to say no.”

A little more informed. A little more connected.