Did you know the formula for the Cadbury brand of chocolates — the world’s second-largest confectionery company — had its original roots in Jamaica? In 1687 Sir Hans Sloane came to Jamaica and, while living here, developed the formula for liquid chocolate, which he later patented and sold to John Cadbury in England. Several attempts in 1938 to establish a chocolate factory in Jamaica by the Cadbury family were futile. Decades later, Jamaica has still not developed a robust value-added production culture using our raw materials. We continue to export our coffee beans, bauxite, and other raw materials at the mercy of world commodity pricing.

Real economic independence takes effect when a country controls the value chain of its production from raw materials to finished goods. The Africa Union has embraced this concept and many of its member states are now pursuing fundamental shifts to structurally transform their economies to focus on a production where they have identified sustained competitive advantages globally. Ghana’s tactical gambit in Bern was another move in this country’s new era of industrialization for its economy which has been growing at a rate of seven percent per annum since 2017. 

The old saying that “good things come to those who wait” is just that… old. In the new economic order, good things come to those who get up and go get them. 

The Dangote Group and MRS Holdings, established by two visionary Nigerian brothers, have developed the production capacity over the years to compete with anyone, anywhere in the world with building and agricultural products, oil, gas, food, and shipping. No longer do countries in Africa have to import finished goods in any of the items these companies manufacture.

I had the opportunity to tour one of MRS’s modern production plants on my last visit to Lagos in 2018. This facility, with less than 60 employees, was producing four million bottles of engine oil per day to fill 70 terminal containers for export. Today, Aliko Dangote’s sharp business acumen and push toward African self-reliance have made him the world’s wealthiest black man with an estimated net worth of US$11.5 billion.

What say you, Jamaica?